gun owner? check
legal gun owner? check
concealed carry permit? check
educated kids? constantly ongoing education, so not quite yet...
Education is the key. Like so many others here, I was raised around guns and constantly educated to the dangers. My friends were likewise.
Where I grew up, basically everyone had a gun and knew how to use it. Gun violence was nil, robberies were limited to 3-4 per year, other than minor shoplifting type things. It was common to see guns highly visible in gunracks......hunting season or not. In Wyoming, a gun on the hip was fine, but always had to be visible. Obviously you couldn't strap one on and walk into a bar. We had our guns for hunting AND protection. In Wyoming, not protection from humans so much as wildlife...nothing like waking up at 3 am to see a moose eating from your haystacks...first warning shot either scared it of or caused it to charge straight for your house.
Because of the knowledge of gun ownership and the proper training of using those guns, human protection wasn't needed. No one was stupid enough to break into someone's house knowing they had a gun AND knew how to use it.
I realize Wyoming isn't exactly consistant with the crimes and nature of people in states with larger urban populations, but an EDUCATED gun owner is a potential criminals worst enemy. A cop has to follow rules, a gun owner facing an intruder at 3 am doesn't so much....sure in some jurisdictions there are little laws regardig such, but that's where education comes in...if you're going to shoot, shoot to kill...shooting to wound only leaves a bigger legal mess....I was taught "never point a gun unless you intend to shoot and if you plan on shooting, shoot to kill" This applied for animals or that elusive intruder...
Like Voo, we always treated a gun as if it were always loaded and there was always one in the chamber.
I'm an odd breed amongst a lot of my follow NRA lifetime members ;) I have no problems with registering my guns. I have no problems with mandatory training of gun owners. The problem is, the criminal isn't going to care no matter how many laws you pass. In a utopian society, guns wouldn't be necessary for hunting or protection, but we don't live in Utopia...
I'd like to ask my canadian friends, what if someone breaks into your home for a home invasion...what are you going to do? Yell at them? Ooooh, that'll put a stop to them I'm sure ;)))
or are home invasions only an American phenomenon? ;)
Last edited by SykkBoy at Dec 12 2002, 12:53 PM
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