As I was running through the woods with my beagle thinking
about the fact that it was time to write another blog post, one part of my
brain said to the other, “You are going to write about guns? Are you crazy? Why
not write about how it is good to read to your children or the fact that apple
pie tastes good?” So maybe I am crazy but I have some honest questions so here
goes.
I grew up going hunting with my father and brother. My
brother and his friends also used to let me tag along which is an awesome thing
for a younger brother. I wasn’t a great hunter but I enjoyed being in the
woods, the smell of the leaves, hearing the drumming of a grouse, watching
squirrels (especially those big fox squirrels in the mountains of western Virginia),
turkeys, and pileated woodpeckers. I enjoyed sleeping in a cabin warmed by a
fire, hiking up the ridge in the freezing predawn darkness, falling asleep in
the leaves when it got warmer later in the day, the smell of burned gunpowder
from a used shotgun shell, and warming up by the woodstove after a long day in
the woods. I still have the antlers from my first deer. It was just a spike but
my brother mounted them on an expertly finished wood base for me. I also still
have a gray squirrel he mounted for me (I have a pretty awesome big brother).
I think it is self-evident that shooting guns can be fun,
especially if you have ever had the opportunity to dispose of a partially
rotten watermelon by shooting it. I have no idea why it is fun to blow up
spoiling melons with a shotgun but it is. But I think anyone who has ever
disposed of fruit in this way would agree that an instrument that can do that
to a melon is obviously potentially dangerous if not handled carefully. After
all, the primary purpose of a gun is to kill.
I have a hard time understanding how discussions of gun
safety and whether or not assault weapons should be easily available infringes
on the rights of hunters. I am certain that my brother could feed a large
number of people with only a bow and a few arrows or a flintlock with some
powder and mini balls.
I have never even considered having a gun for self-defense
for a variety of reasons (a longer essay for another day). I once walked into a
store and the other three customers all had handguns on their hips and I
wondered about the wisdom of being somewhere where everyone apparently felt the
need to be armed. That doesn’t seem like the type of society I want my family to
live in. And since the mass murderers are now using what are essentially automatic
weapons, does that mean that soon people will be walking through the grocery
store with assault rifles slung over their shoulders to protect themselves from
the suspicious-looking guy in the cereal aisle?
I am also puzzled by discussions of the second amendment. I
am not a lawyer or constitutional scholar but I don’t think I have ever heard
anyone bring up the “well-regulated” part of the second amendment in these
discussions. What does that mean? If I go down to the store and buy a rifle and
take it home, that does not seem to me to fit into the idea of a “well-regulated
militia.” Some folks are not good at self-regulation.
I welcome any calm, well-reasoned responses.
Peace.
