Romancing the Gun

Although I do not have a membership in the NRA, I DO own a hand gun and believe that, at least in present circumstances, people who possess the totally logical desire to defend themselves should have the right to own a firearm or two.
That being said, I do not love my gun. I do not love my toaster or my coffee maker (ok, yea, maybe the coffee maker) nor do I own a life size doll that I have any particular affection for. My gun is a tool, no different from my rake, shovel, hammer, or electric grill. I use it for self defense, period. I HAVE used it for that purpose, taking out a five foot long rattlesnake that was threatening my goats, but that is the only time this weapon has been fired in anger in the three decades that I have owned it. It hasn't even had more than two boxes of ammo total fired through it. No, I do not LOVE my gun, but I consider it a necessary evil and that is the only reason I own it.

However, there are many Americans who DO love their guns. They love their guns with a passion that is downright scary. Some of them own an entire arsenal, enough firepower to arm a small banana republic. Many own simply a small weapon for concealed carry, and then there are those who own fully automatic weapons that could shred an elephant in nothing flat. THESE are the people who make me uncomfortable, and who make a very real statement about the human condition……...

We love to destroy things, living things included.

Many of us, those of us who are "civilized" and "God-fearing" especially, will proclaim to possess an overriding love of family, friends, and man in general. Our lives will be spent being "good people", proclaiming the love of Christ and maybe even doing "good works". And yet, Many of these same people will support the death penalty, not strictly out of social practicality, but for vengeance sake, or the ultimate punishment, despite their deities admonition that "vengeance is MINE" and that judgement is reserved to the creator. Yes, these are traits so easily ignored by people who want you to believe they are somehow better than those "other" people. And, many of these same people own guns, hunt with guns, shoot watermelons with guns, have one hidden on themselves and all around their house, and are always lusting after the newest caliber to be brought to market for their bang-bang pleasure. Guns are designed for one thing, and one thing only: to kill. No, they were not invented to blow apart watermelons. No, they were not designed to punch holes in paper targets within the safety of a firing range. No, they were not designed for anything other than to kill animals (one of those necessary evils that is questionable in the era of supermarkets and industrial meat production) and people. And boy can they do THAT job better than anything! They kill men, women, AND children, and even their pets. Some are designed to inflict mortal damage on one person at a time, while others are quite capable of taking out a whole classroom within a minute. THAT is what guns were designed to do, and if you love guns, then you love what they are capable of doing. In my mind, that makes you purely human, the most dangerous animal on the face of this Earth.

Again, here is my license: I own a gun, and I have owned more than one in my lifetime. I have hunted with guns AND archery equipment. I have used my gun for what I acquired it for; self-defense. When it comes to down to me vs a threat, human or otherwise, I come down on the side of ME and MINE. I do not lust after nor do I wish to have one of these encounters. I do not WANT to take a life. And I find no need to empty boxes of bullets into targets, imagining those targets as some sort of threat to me. I have taken whatever target practice was necessary to operate my pistol to it's maximum effect, and that's it. Does that make me some sort of namby-pamby liberal wimp? You think so? Then come visit me in the middle of the night without knocking. I won't be thinking I'm Rambo but I guarantee YOU will within thirty seconds of breaking into my castle.

I do not love my gun.

Why do you?