Time to Rethink Our Gun Culture

Sunday, December 23, 2012

My life has included a relatively small number of guns. But I have now concluded they're not for me or many others.

My mother learned to shoot a 12-gauge shotgun as a teen. Her father always kept his gun in the trunk of his car and wanted his daughters to learn how to shoot. Why? We don't know. It must have been the thing back in the early 1900s.

My first gun was a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun, which I used to shoot at sparrows minding their own business on the porch railing. My shot nailed a poor bird, and I was both thrilled at being able to kill something and sorrowful at the same time as the innocent little guy I shot closed his eyes in front of me. I cried and only shot at tin cans afterward.

When I was 12, I got a single-shot 12-gauge shotgun, which I used to hunt rabbits on the land now occupied by the Air Force Academy.

In high school, I learned how to shoot a friend's .357 Magnum pistol and still remember the enormous kick it produced. My friend had no gun permit back in the '50s, as regulations were scant then.

In the Army at Fort Benning, Ga., I learned how to strip an M-1 rifle and fire it on the range. I earned an expert rating and graduated to a .30-caliber machine gun.

At Benning, we were given three hours of instruction on the machine gun. And when I got to Fort Carson, Colo., one of my first tasks was to teach a six-hour class on it.

At Carson, I was range safety officer. One day, as I was standing behind troops learning how to use their M-1s, a gust of wind brought a report directly into my left ear, creating permanent tinnitus.

My first job took me into some beautiful Montana and Idaho back country loaded with deer, elk and moose. I could never kill any of these and was contented just to gaze at them as they peacefully stared back at me.

Later, my career took me to London, where the "bobbies" (police) were totally unarmed. In the early '80s, you could walk anywhere, at any time, without a threat of assault on the streets of London. That's when I said to myself, "Why don't we get rid of handguns in the United States?" It seemed like a good idea then, as it does now.

Does an assault gun owner attack targets or game with these highly automatic weapons? Maybe some like to have them on hand "just in case." The only people who should have assault guns are our soldiers, who use them to protect us.

There seems to be at least one shooting a day in Fayetteville and Durham. Football players, deranged kids, military veterans, et al., should stop killing innocent people.

People do not need guns except for hunting. Every day we are occupied in TV stories about shootings and murders. It's getting tiresome.

People should remember that the Second Amendment evolved from an urgent need to bear arms against a British enemy who stymied our freedom. There is no such need for bearing arms at the present time.

I am a staunch Republican conservative who thinks we should wake up and alter the Second Amendment to exclude handguns and assault weapons.

Andy Thomas lives in Pinehurst. Contact him at dahtmuth58@aol.com.

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OldPilot 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Excellent point concerning the historical context of the Second Amendment. 1) It is incomprehensible how the "militia" phrase and the "right to bear arms" became separate. 2) The arms of the period were muzzle loading muskets and flintlock pistols, tools used for personal defense, feeding the family and, if necessary, defending a fledgling nation. It is hard to imagine the founding fathers contemplated the ownership of semi-automatic military weapon clones fed by high capacity magazines as useful tools for hunting anything (except people), a small bore pistol or shotgun is more than adequate for personal defense and the military is charged with defending the nation. So, what justification is there for these type weapons & magazines to exist in civilian hands?

Yukonjohn 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Our founders and framers of the Constitution were visionaries. They foresaw many things that did not exist in their day. They understood that a govt., any govt. could become tyranical. Thus, they wrote in the 2nd Amendment. It is written especially for that reason, and that reason only. That reason still exist today. God forbid, but the day could come that armed conflict with our own govt. could occur. We can only hope it does not, but what do we do if we are unarmed when the day comes? We becomes slaves to our govt.

fatboy 4 months, 4 weeks ago

I agree, Yukon. Although we don't have a threat from Great Britain anymore, that will not stop other countries from testing our resolve. Japan opted not to try to invade the US for the fact that its citizens were armed. Crazy people are always going to do crazy things. The largest mass murder of school children happened from the detonation of a bomb. I have to wonder though.......the owner of the guns that killed those little children in Connecticut was a registered guy owner, avid shooter and for the most part a responsible firearm owner. Her fault was that, even though she knew that her son was troubled and suffering from depression, she left her guns in a place that was accessible to him.

packwilleat 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Does anyone know the difference between militia and a standing army?? And how our founders chose the former. We've lost our way as a nation once founded on the ideology of individual liberty. But than again, they foresaw that too.

skylinefirepest 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Andy, I love it that you're a staunch conservative but you don't know your firearms. There are no assault rifles in civilian hands outside of class 3 licenseholders. And handguns are used hundreds of thousands of times each year to protect law abiding life and limb...and property.

fugitiveguy 4 months, 4 weeks ago

"I am a staunch Republican conservative who thinks we should wake up and alter the Second Amendment to exclude handguns and assault weapons."

This is one of the silliest things I have seen on this subject.

fugitiveguy 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Ban handguns? I bet criminals will be tripping over each other to turn in their guns.

njc17 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Every so often this commentary arises about the availability of guns and whether we need them.I am all for the keeping of the second amendment. I am all for those who want to collect and use firearms, to just that. Now I have been discussing on these few forums, the right to bear arms in various formats, and I have been interested in those who would see all 'men', be shorn of their weaponry. They have that right to believe this. I can understand some of the thinking. But as was pointed out in a previous thread Other despots have stripped the citizenry of guns, and then run over them. I have seen cities HERE in America where guns were severly curtailed, and yet the bad guys had all they needed [ Chicago] If you take the guns knives will do, you take knives, pointed sticks will do, you take pointed sticks , bare hands will do, ---now what? Again, it comes down to the tools and the users. Now to the users. We live in a day of frustration, dealing with high unemployment, lack of cash, losing of ones homes, cars, we have people in various states of coping ability, people falling into depressions because of all of the above, we have folks who deal with various mental issues, and others who don't accept the mental issue conditions. This is an area that needs to be addressed moreso than the issue of taking somebodies guns away.Solve the problem of exploding frustrating populace, you go a long way to solving the shooting conditions today.

JimRussell44 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Guns don't kill people, people with guns kill people, sometimes in very large quantities. This is thanks to the NRA and all who will not discuss reasonable regulation of firearms. If a firearm is simply a tool, why would we not want to make it harder to have mass killings by banning semi-automatic weapons with large capacity clips? The answer is because the NRA does not want to allow it for fear it will become "a slippery slope". Legal, honest and responsible gun owners must choose a side in this debate: Do they blindly follow the dictates of the NRA or do they cancel their membership and join with the rest of this nation in trying to find a way to stop this carnage of gun related deaths. Your right to "bear arms" comes with a very big price tag: 85 people are sacrificed every day so you can have that freedom. How much are you willing to compromise to lower that number?

LSM 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Maybe when the number hits 3288 deaths a day. That is the number of abortions per day in the US for the freedom of women “having control of their bodies”.

"How much are you willing to compromise to lower that number?"

fatboy 4 months, 4 weeks ago

JR, what do you consider large capacity clips? Do you know what a semi-automatic firearm is? A shotgun can be semi-automatic. What is the difference between a clip that holds 30 rounds, or two clips that hold 15 rounds each.This would ban just about every firearm in the country. This is why the NRA is standing firm. They, and 4 million responsible gun owners know how the government works. They just keep chipping away a little at a time. Look at what the progressive movement is doing to the country.

packwilleat 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Maybe once our beloved leaders stop killing innocent children the rest of the nation will follow suit......

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/robert-greenwald/us-drone-strikes-are-caus_b_2224627.html

Yukonjohn 4 months, 4 weeks ago

For those that believe we are blowing smoke up your rear about having to overthrow a tyranical govt. The perfect example exist in Syria. They rebel fighters want to overthrow their own govt., they are outgunned, and the govt. is killing them by the hundreds as they stand in line for bread. If you look at this situation, this could easily be us.

skylinefirepest 4 months, 4 weeks ago

JimRussell, you keep harping on reasonable gun control....what we have right now is reasonable gun control....what I hear is proposed by Feinstein is unreasonable gun control and we should not implement it!! When you talk about sacrificing so many people a day you realize that you are talking about crooks, gangbangers, accidents, suicides, etc?? How about doing as I have asked you in the past and find out how many lives are SAVED each day by firearms. I'll ask you again, if you are facing a hood and your family is in danger do you want one shot, six shots, ten shots, or twenty, thirty, however many it takes??? Honest answer please...I'm tired of people who have never faced a second of danger in their lives saying that it wouldn't take over one or two shots. They don't ever admit to more than one hoodlum facing their family. I qualified marksman in the service but now I don't shoot as well...I personally use twenty round magazines, some loaded with tracer so that you KNOW I'm shooting at you. I'd be very happy with hand grenades but I simply can't throw any more so they would be dangerous to me! Please realize that I am being very serious here...I will not allow anyone to hurt my family and will do whatever it takes!!

ninesyspup 4 months, 4 weeks ago

If we are going to toy with the Second Amendent then amend it like our forefathers envisioned. They knew that they could not know what the future held so they set up a process for amendments to change with the times. But let it be known I am not in favor of taking guns from honest people.

The main catch phrase since this arguement started was " If guns are outlawed only outlaws will have them."

When you can come up with an idea to get the guns from the badguys then maybe people won't feel the need to have so many.

JimRussell44 4 months, 4 weeks ago

LSM: We are having a discussion on firearms, Since you have nothing to contribute on this subject, suggest you reserve comment until your favorite subject comes up.

JimRussell44 4 months, 4 weeks ago

fatboy: When the 2nd Amendment was written, single shot firearms were the firearms available so I would be comfortable with having what the "founding fathers" had in mind when they came up with the amendment. I see you also have that slippery slope fear I was talking about

JimRussell44 4 months, 4 weeks ago

skylinefirepest: I am so sorry you have to live in that tormented world that exists in your brain. May the New Year bring you better mental health. In a way, I wish the Mayans were correct so you could now have the demons exorcised.

cooldaddy 4 months, 4 weeks ago

The guilt of allowing the murder (legal murder) of children waiting to be born has nothing to do with this LSM..It sidetracks the stupid idea that guns are the problem, and therefore messes up the whole thing for those who don't want to tackle the real problem. I repost this...Those of you, (including the writer), who make the guns the issue, and not the people, are just lazy. You don't want to solve the problem, you want to pass a feel good law that will NOT work. You know that if you have any sense at all. US history has proven it. Prohibition anyone???Drinking increased, Taxes decreased, and the burden on law enforcement was incredible...with no revenue to support them unless they sold copper.My aunt was killed by a drunk driver on I 95. There are more deaths (by far) from vehicles than from firearms. You take the cars off the road, (or the alcohol away...again) and then write you stupid letter on how banning guns is an answer. In 3rd world countries there have been mass slayings...with machetes. Is that more your flavor? How about the boxcutters that killed 3000 on 911? Those weapons ok? Fertilizer (not your letter) but the livestock mixture and fuel oil that was used in Oklamoma City? Like that? They are all illegal to use to harm people. Enforce the laws we have now. Start giving REAL sentances for those who commit a crime with a weapon. Treat the mental illness. Do the reporting and bacground checks. Make the gunowners responsible for securing their weapons. Make training manditory for the firearm purchased...there is a lot that can be done without being so lazy as to believe a ban will work. Dusty gave a lot of scenerio's that nuts with weapons could run...so take those, and a host of other bad things that can happen, and work on the minds of the ill.

Yukonjohn 4 months, 4 weeks ago

JimRussell44, I agree with skylinefirepest on this. We do not live in a tormented world of fear. If someone comes to hurt us, rob us, kill us we just want to be able to send them to their maker. What part of not wanting to be prepared do you believe in? Were you a boy scout? In a world where we never had home invasion, armed robberies, assualts from criminals...I might not carry. Unfortunately we do not live in that world. Even here in Alaska, we have to be prepared for beast or men....and hopefully a shot will never be fired at another person, but if necessary, if it is them or my family....God willing, it will be them.

Yukonjohn 4 months, 4 weeks ago

JimRussell44, in an armed confilct, you, my friend, are a victim.

Toda 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Joesph ~ "Treat the mental illness. Do the reporting and bacground checks"

HIPPA LAW as well as doctor client privilege determines release of confidential patient information.

Secondly, FBI background checks are conducted prior to purchase of any firearm which has to be entered on the application for purchase.

And a final thought, every shooter had a higher IQ than the standard mean ... thus, should restrictions and requirements strengthen, manipulation of requirements would be advantageous to any shooter with manic depressive disorders, especially those who experience psychological episodes as in bi-polar behaviors.

JimRussell44 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Youkonjohn, in an armed conflict, we will be statistics. So far, I have avoided armed conflicts. If I die tomorrow, I will have lived almost 70 years without being in constant fear that someone was trying to "get me". I believe you guys are wrong, you believe I'm wrong. Twenty dead school children in CT didn't get to celebrate Christmas this year because one of us supports a flawed idea. We tried it your way for over 200 years, all I'm asking is that we try to improve on the old system and look at some better solutions.

Yukonjohn 4 months, 3 weeks ago

JimRussell44, Merry Christmas!! I hope your day is filled with love of friends and family and peace. I know we just see this issue from two different sides. And yes, I doubt that we are going to argee on very much when it comes right down to it. I think that we as a nation, are going to have to adress this at some point in time, and we will probably have our representatives voting on some form of Amendment on this somewhere down the road. Hopefully it will work out best for our nation. God Bless you and yours, and God Bless the US of A.

skylinefirepest 4 months, 3 weeks ago

JimRussell...Dude, you used to be fun to talk to but now you're just another name calling bitter old man!! I too have lived to almost seventy and my life experience has probably been much different from yours. I drove an ambulance in Charlotte, made some eighteen hundred calls before going in the service. I've been a fireman for twenty one years, as a volunteer, and I've probably been in neighborhoods and places that would have you shaking in your boots and wishing for someone with a big gun!! Our society has changed and to think that we can just blithely wander around wherever we wish with nothing but a smile to protect us is not only naive....it's downright stupid. I've owned guns pretty much all my adult life and I'm very familiar with them. A gun is simply a tool and there is an element of society today that will sooner kill you as look at you. To ignore this is foolish. I know life was different when you were a kid but you apparently haven't watched the left leaning news media much. This ain't your dad's Buick, nowadays Jim! About a year ago, after a bad wreck I stopped at our local Kangaroo in the wee hours of the morning and happened to witness a shoplifting by a man with a big ol' knife and when they apprehended him it turned out that he had just been released from prison for several counts of armed robbery. That one could have turned sour and didn't probably because of the number of people in the store. You were probably home in bed and didn't know anything about it! I'll make you a proposition here, Jim. Suppose you take my comments that I've made on the website since last Friday, print them out, and show them to a few policemen. Ask them if I'm paranoid or right on the money. Easy challenge there Jim, as I know a slew of leo types and there's a bunch of them that tell me I'm right on the money!! For that matter have you ever considered just why cops carry guns??? Why does almost every police station in the country have fully automatic weapons?? Are our policemen paranoid, like me, Jim???

Thatcher 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Yukon!! Merry Christmas to you and yours! We did the classic trick to our youngest daughter this morning...giant wrapped box, open it and you find a smaller box, then find an even smaller box (an iPod touch). She almost fainted. We filmed it. I plan on showing it at her wedding...which will be a gazilion years from now. Be well, my friend! And Merry Christmas!!

Yukonjohn 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Thatcher, Merry Christmas my Friend!! It sounds like you had a good time today with your children. We have one child (not really a child, he is 19) that is back from Hawaii. He wasnt much interested in Christmas, just to party with his friends. Such is life l guess. I was like that also. Thatcher, we are FINALLY warm!! We have warmed up to near zero, not above it, but near it, and it feels sooo nice!! I spoke with my Brother today. He was telling me that since this tragedy, the price of "assualt rifles" are doubled, and in some cases trippled!! Crazy, but certainly understandable. He also said, "when was the last time someone with an emergency involving someone attacking them, called 911 and said, quick, send the police but don't bring a gun!!" When you want them for that, you want them to bring their assualt rifles!!!

Thatcher 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Too funny (sad) Yukon! I am hoping my wife can send the video to your private mailbox here (she says she can). And you have warmed up to 0. Uh, Yukon, that's still too dang cold for the rest of us Americans...when it gets in double digits, we will visit you. Merry Christmas!

Yukonjohn 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Thatcher, my address is: yukonjohn333@gmail

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