Gun Rights and Open Carry
The battle over the peoples' rights to bear arms is one that is never ending and often times highly controversial, with extremes on either side pushing the hands of those in power through lobbying and stories of consequence. Did the founding fathers use the wording “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State...”, to limit guns to the army? Or, did the next sentence in the Second Amendment “...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”, give the American citizen the right to firearm ownership? (The Bill of Rights)
Where do I stand? I'm much more prone to agree with what many call the “pro-gun” side when it comes to Second Amendment arguments, mostly because anti-gun groups have such neutering and fringe legislation ideas (at least to me). I am a gun owner, yes. While I'm not an NRA member, per say, I frequently enjoy the NRA monthly magazine “The American Hunter” that my father receives and believe that the founding fathers weren't talking about our local militias when they were referencing our “right to bear arms”. With that said, I also believe that convicted felons have forked over that right when he/she decided to commit a crime worthy of a felony conviction. Sorry, gun nuts: it's just the way I feel about the situation.
I'm also willing to say this: guns kill people. There is probably a shocked gasp that goes through the gun community, but yes, it's true. Guns are dangerous, and it is important for each and every gun owner to recognize this. I have, for example, a ten month old son. If I were careless and left my firearms lying around the house, there is a high probability that he could crawl over to one of them and hurt or even kill himself. And if that were to happen, it would be my fault for leaving the guns lying around. When my son is a little older, I'm going to do the same thing that my father did with me. I'm going to sit him down and have a long talk about the dangers of guns (IE misfiring, improper usage, etc) and then take him over the Grandpa's house (my fathers) and shoot at some targets, because I believe that children who are exposed to guns at an early age and are informed about the possible dangers of firearms have less of a chance of becoming a statistic.
When it comes to anti-gun groups and (mostly) Democrats who favor more and more laws restricting our gun rights, all I have to do is look at California (The Christian Science Monitor Mar 10, 2010). California is in the process of banning what is called “open carry”. What this means, is that it is perfectly legal to go pretty much anywhere with your handgun as long as it is in view of the public. Makes sense, right? However, because some people are uncomfortable with the SIGHT of these weapons, legislation is being pushed to ban the practice. To me, it would make much more sense to have an open carry law and know exactly who is carrying a firearm than to make people conceal the weapons, so that everyone is guessing as to whom is carrying. Unfortunately, people who don't understand gun ownership and are uncomfortable with the idea seem to be prevailing. The only law that I would support would be one banning open carry in bars. Even the cowpokes of the old west used to have a gun check in their saloons to prevent patrons from becoming intoxicated and shooting the guy next to him, and common sense tells you that alcohol and guns just don't mix.
However, all in all, guns are a part of our American tradition and way of life. People like to go hunting, skeet shooting, and like to be able to protect him/herself from a burglar or perhaps much worse. I agree with a quote that I heard once, “An armed society is a polite society”. In cities that ban handguns, for example, don't ever see a decrease in gun violence. The only thing that they see is that honest people who can't obtain weapons to defend him/herself are too often killed or made innocent victims. Why is this? Because most criminals aren't going to purchase and register a handgun or get a handgun license. The criminal is probably going to purchase the gun through black market means because he doesn't want the gun to trace back to him. Because of gun laws that are enacted with the hope that the laws will help avert disaster (often, I'm sure, with the best of intentions) innocents are the ones that reap the consequences. You don't have to own a gun to be in favor of gun rights. You just need to respect your neighbors' liberty.
