Touchy subject, isn't it? But in today's day and age, it is one that is on many people's mind. Most importantly, it is on the mind of our members who continuously ask me about my stand.
I own guns. I also have a carry permit. I carry whenever and wherever I am legally allowed. I would hate to see that right taken away from me.
I understand why people are afraid of it. I do not agree, but I understand. People fear what they do not know, or what they are not educated about. It's natural. If people are fed their information from movies, or only read the sad headlines in the media, there is no surprise why they fear people carrying firearms.
But firearms in general, and handguns in particular are tools. Just like the pocket knives most people carry around. It is meant to do a very specific job, and thank god for that. Take for example the police officer who carried his handgun off duty with him always, until one day he decided nothing happened before and it won't happen today. This officer went to church that morning and witness as a shooter entered the building and began firing at people. Among the six casualties was the officer's son. This officer, who could legally carry a handgun and could have stopped the threat, lost a son that day.
Now, I am sure some of you will read this and point out to the fact that the suspect had a handgun. Furthermore, you would assume that if the laws were stricter this incident could have been avoided all together. WRONG. Any law, by definition, will be followed by law-abiding citizens. Do you honestly think that the criminal element will be at all restricted by any type of gun-related regulation?
If these laws are put into effect then the shooting at the Trolly Square Mall in Salt-Lake City, Utah would have ended with many more dead then it did. Thanks to another off-duty officer who was having a Valentine's Day dinner that February 13, 2007 day, the suspects were shot and killed. If it wasn't for him the carnage would have been much worse since the suspects were heavily armed.
Would you like to be that person witnessing your son/daughter/wife/husband/loved one get killed because you were too dumb to realize that if you had a gun you could have saved them? Could you live with yourself after that? It is amazing to me how all these pro-gun-restriction people never had a family member or loved one be a victim of a violent crime. As soon as something bad happen they change their minds. Do you really want to wait that long?
And let me point one more piece of information: do a search and see what country has the highest percentage of crime (terrorism aside, just civic crime, like robberies, murder, rape, etc.)? Now compare that to the gun laws in that country. Let me tell you what you will find, statistically speaking, the stricter the gun laws the higher the crime. After all, why would I worry about robbing you when I know you are unarmed?!? And true, correlation does not prove causation, and we must not interpret that the gun laws are the true cause for the crime, but we can not ignore this fact.
And lastly, the second amendment. It defines a militia. It has been around since the wild wild west days (and before). And it has one very specific purpose: to protect citizens from its own government. I will not dwell into the whole small government versus big government issue, but the bottom line is that when other rights will start being taken away, and they will, just look at what is going on around the globe these days, do you want to be a slave or fight for your freedom? And if fighting is your choice, how will you do it if the government restricted your right to own or carry a gun?
So, I am all about my right to own and carry my handgun. That said, and this is important, personally I have no problem with making a safety course and mandating minimal qualification standards. If safety is what people worry about, let's address that by educating and training. Treat the problem, not the symptoms.
Stay safe!
Tzviel 'BK' Blankchtein
Chief Instructor
Masada Tactical, LLC
http://www.masadatactical.com/
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