You either like them or hate them.
You either believe we should be able to have them or not.
There does not seem to be a happy medium when it comes to this subject.
Kinda like religion or politics. And the discussion about guns can get just as heated. People get FIRED UP! I think a lot of it has to do with how you are raised.
I grew up around guns. I held them, loaded them, unloaded them, shot them.
My dad took us numerous times to a gun club and I would watch him shoot. I don't ever remember him telling me to back up, cover my ears or be careful. I remember him handing me a gun and telling me to shoot. I remember running around the gun club like it was a freaking playground. We stayed for a weekend sometimes and I actually have fond memories of the place and the time we spent there. There was woods, creeks, frogs, dirt and lots of guns. Good food, drunk grown-ups and lots of guns!
It was, after all, the 70's.
By today's standards my parents would probably had DCYF on their ass. I was literally a wee child as you will see in the awesome picture below. I think I was MAYBE FIVE YEARS old. Sooooooo 1979 "ish". Damn! Look at that cuteness!
I knew where my dad kept his guns. Knew where he kept the ammo and I was a very curious child. Now neither of my parents were neglectful. See that old school playpen in the background? My mother probably had me in that thing until my eighth birthday and even IF I DID know how to climb out (and I am sure I did), if she put my ass in there I stayed in there until she said I could get out. I kept myself busy. I did not dare get out until I was told.
So what happened? When did we become a country so afraid of guns? When did things change and go awry? When did common sense get thrown out the window? And why?
Growing up around guns made guns not a big deal. Not being such a big deal made them just that ... not a big deal. Of course, we were TOLD not to touch the guns.
... most of the time I did not listen. I just knew they were to be respected. I do not particularly remember what was going on in this picture. Knowing my dad, he probably thought I looked quite adorable holding these two and decided right then in that moment that it should be snapped and kept for posterity. I personally adore this picture! Besides the confusion of why I am dressed like a boy and I looked like I needed a good hair brushing, I feel like I was happy in this slice of childhood.
If a picture like this ended up on Facebook today ... ALL HELL WOULD BREAK LOOSE. I have thought about actually posting it but didn't want to start a shit show. And shame that it would or could do such a thing. I am not sure what happened to us all. I remember being outafter dark, jumping roofs, breaking into junk yards and pretending to drive inside the old cars. One time in one particular old junk yard we opened an old car to a nest of angry wasps .... yep ... that sucked! A few times we got caught and the owner yelled a good ol' "Scram you damn kids!" Yes ... it was THAT corny. I miss those corny days. We were tough city kids. We spit, swore, talked about farts and burps and poop. We laid down in the mud to take a nap with the family dog and never wore shoes.
What the F happened?
Back to the guns. So after my parents got divorced, my dad had a breakdown and all of his guns got taken away. When you go into a mental hospital, that shit happens and rightly so.
So guns were not a big part of my life after that. He did eventually get them all back ... do not ask me how. Mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse ... it all runs rampant in my family. But we had guns!
So here we are.
Whether pro gun or not, everyone needs to listen to reason. Law-abiding citizens deserve to have the right to protect themselves and their families through gun ownership. They deserve the right to enjoy firearms as a sport and for hunting. If you practice safe and responsible gun ownership, you should be able to claim your Second Amendment rights.
It is pretty much that simple.
The boss loves guns. I knew this when I met him. He is a straight up red neck and I love him. We fought a little here and there about guns in the house once babies started being born and for a long time they went away. I just did not want them around the kids. He worked a lot when they were small and the boy was literally like Houdini. And times had changed. Kids were shooting up schools and it was all changing. The world in general was taking a huge turn and you could feel it happening. The World Wide Web, social media, terrorism. Columbine, Oklahoma City bombing .... Sept 11.
People were afraid of guns, but guns were on the rise. Fear was on the rise. We were no longer worried as much about nuclear war as in my day but war on our streets. War on our kids and schools and this apocalyptic mindset right here in our own homes andbackyards.
2016 was THE YEAR of the gun.
As of the beginning of 2016, there were over 14.5 million concealed carry permits in the US. THAT REPRESENTS A 215% increase in the number of permits since 2007. Yet, those numbers are clearly an underestimate of the number of people who can legally carry because there are 12 states now where you do not need a permit to be able to carry, and while some people in those states still get a permit to be able to carry outside their state, the number of permits in these Constitutional Carry states does tend to fall.
The biggest increases in permit have been for women and minorities. The number of women with permits has increased twice as quickly as the number of men with permits.
The boss wants a permit to carry. I am not a fan. Of course it is his right and we have guns in the house now. Only the past few years or so have we had guns and the ammunition to go with them in our home. We take the proper precautions. They are not loaded, locked up, etc. Having a permit to carry is a whole thing that just makes me nervous. The boss is a "gotta protect my family" man and I get it. But I can also see how that creates an unnecessary burden to do so under any and all circumstances. It IS a scary world out there but I do not want to lose my husband because he decided to play hero on a madman that decides to go all out in a store or restaurant we are in. But THAT is exactly why he feels he HAS the right to carry one. I go back and forth. I feel it can give a burden that I would not be prepared to handle. And bad guy or not ... who can know that they can be prepared to take a life?
I do not think guns themselves are the sole reason for people killing. If someone is gonna kill or wants to kill ... they will find a way. But guns ALWAYS take the blame.
I do not have any answers. All I know is it is a right ... a RIGHT in the Constitution that as a responsible citizen you have the right to bear arms.
There are a lot of things that should/could/need to happen to keep citizens safe. I do not have any answers. All I know is people on either side need to educate themselves. Guns are to be respected, are to be had responsibly and as of right now ... still a given right to own.
Oh and pro gun or not .... I am SOOOOOOO DAMN CUTE IN THIS PICTURE!
Just saying!
Peace and love people ... peace and love.
t
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