Friday, June 20, 2008

My thoughts on guns

I was reading a blog that linked to www.zombiehunters.org, a website that is dedicated to preparedness for disasters, all of them, using zombies as a metaphor for catastrophe.

Anyway, I was browsing their forums and saw a thread for people to post pictures of their gun collections.

You could say I'm both surprised and horrified. Especially this picture here on page 12.

I'm not the kind of person that thinks government gun control is a solution to gun violence, nor do I think that's even a step in the right direction. I think people should be able to own whatever weapons they want to protect their homes and families within reason as long as they know how to be safe. That said, some of the posters there at zombiehunters are a tad... excessive. There is no reason whatsoever (outside of law enforcement/military, obviously) to have more than maybe 3 or 4 guns, and that's stretching it.

When it comes to defending your home, unless you pissed someone off in the mob or Taliban, then a simple handgun can be used to neutralize any intruder easily, and you have a better chance of not killing them. If for some reason you or your family is desperate for food, the pistol is not nearly as much use as a rifle for hunting.

So how can you justify over 20 guns? How can you justify 20 guns with 20 high capacity magazines for each one? Are you planning on starting a small war with your local police agency?

For perspective, I own one handgun that holds 13 rounds, with a spare magazine. I keep it in the case with a flashlight so if I hear some suspicious noise in the house, I grab both, and use the light to make sure I'm not shooting at something I don't intend to hurt. I also own a Mosin Nagant Bolt Action rifle. It's probably the most cumbersome gun in the world and weighs a ton. That's for killing a deer to feed myself if I had to. Lastly, I have pieces to an old WWII machine gun that I would like to restore as a collector's item.

So anyway, WTF?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is fine if you only want one gun. But some people want many guns. Anyone or the government should have no say about the number of legal firearms that they have. Next they will be telling me how many cars I can own and how much money I can make or even worst how big my girl friend boobs can be. To much freedom is just enough.

Big Boss said...

Just a quick point: Watch out for those slippery slope fallacies. If you are going to debate, that's a sure fire way to lose and be ridiculed. There is no logical connection between gun control and breast size.

I mean all that in good humor, though I'm serious. Freedom is one thing, but justification is another. I now own three handguns as well as the rifle and machine gun parts. I cannot justify one of those handguns for any reason other than to use for trade or sale later. It was largely purchased for experimental modification and curiosity.

Anyway, my views have become a little more refined since that post. Recently, I've begun thinking of guns as closer in relation to a car. I believe it would be a good idea to require licensing for weapons, and having your weapons registered to you. Just like a car. You could have as many as you can afford. But the penalties for messing with the system will be harsh.

I might go into it in more detail in a future post. Thanks for the comment.