I had a discussion with someone about a week ago about gun ownership and 2nd amendment rights. They believe that gun ownership and concealed carry contribute to "fear of guns" and widespread paranoia. That the presence of armed citizens somehow creates a hostile environment of suspicion and impulsive actions.
I disagree with this entirely. What does contribute to a fear of guns, widespread paranoia, hostile environments and impulsive actions is the complaints from anti-gun alarmists. Instead of encouraging the education of individuals in gun use, its history, and other related topics, they try to eradicate it altogether because it's apparently too dangerous and too scary of a subject. Guns are bad, they are dangerous, and they are unpredictable, they say. I probably don't have to add that these are people who have likely never touched a gun in their lives.
Fear of the unknown. That's what it's about. We fear that which we do not understand, and fear of firearms is exactly the same thing for these people. Instead of seeing how an innocent person could use a gun to protect themselves and prevent a crime from happening, they say "someone could have gotten hurt or even killed". It doesn't matter that the person just saved their own life without having to fire a shot.
But the media reports stories of shootings in a manner that suggests they happen everywhere all the time, and do not provide sufficient facts and details. They select pieces of events and fabricate a story in order to spread fear and paranoia that gun violence is rampant, and a product of mere gun ownership (legal or otherwise), as if simply having a gun in your possession makes you want to go out and kill someone. As if guns either have a free will of their own or somehow manipulate a person's mind and turn them into monsters.
Responsible, well-trained gun owners would probably tell you that they wouldn't want to fire their weapon unless they truly felt they had to. Only under the most perilous circumstances would they choose to use excessive force to deter a criminal. If it means killing that person in order to save themselves, then so be it. The criminal has paid their price.
No, I do not believe that a community teeming with gun owners is liable to turn into one big high noon showdown. If anything, it will be a community where a man respects his neighbor and the neighbor respects him, and where crime decreases as criminals run out of vulnerable targets.
I disagree with this entirely. What does contribute to a fear of guns, widespread paranoia, hostile environments and impulsive actions is the complaints from anti-gun alarmists. Instead of encouraging the education of individuals in gun use, its history, and other related topics, they try to eradicate it altogether because it's apparently too dangerous and too scary of a subject. Guns are bad, they are dangerous, and they are unpredictable, they say. I probably don't have to add that these are people who have likely never touched a gun in their lives.
Fear of the unknown. That's what it's about. We fear that which we do not understand, and fear of firearms is exactly the same thing for these people. Instead of seeing how an innocent person could use a gun to protect themselves and prevent a crime from happening, they say "someone could have gotten hurt or even killed". It doesn't matter that the person just saved their own life without having to fire a shot.
But the media reports stories of shootings in a manner that suggests they happen everywhere all the time, and do not provide sufficient facts and details. They select pieces of events and fabricate a story in order to spread fear and paranoia that gun violence is rampant, and a product of mere gun ownership (legal or otherwise), as if simply having a gun in your possession makes you want to go out and kill someone. As if guns either have a free will of their own or somehow manipulate a person's mind and turn them into monsters.
Responsible, well-trained gun owners would probably tell you that they wouldn't want to fire their weapon unless they truly felt they had to. Only under the most perilous circumstances would they choose to use excessive force to deter a criminal. If it means killing that person in order to save themselves, then so be it. The criminal has paid their price.
No, I do not believe that a community teeming with gun owners is liable to turn into one big high noon showdown. If anything, it will be a community where a man respects his neighbor and the neighbor respects him, and where crime decreases as criminals run out of vulnerable targets.
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