Monday, December 17, 2012

Stringing spaghetti





I refuse to be sucked into a debate on Global Media Facebook about the unfortunate murder of those in Sandy Hook.It is so easy to stand behind such a large public forum, snipe and point fingers, get jiggy and accuse anyone who does not believe the same way you do. It must make people feel righteous to do that. The power of invisibility makes a person seem to others to be good and brave.

 I, like everyone else, am saddened and sickened by what happened. And to those who want to blame me and others like me who respect the gun laws, well then have at it. I do not apologize for being a gun advocate or enthusiast.
I could site all of the cliches about Cold Dead fingers, pencils that 'cause' misspelled words and the like, but why bother? The truth of the matter is that this is an issue that always has and always will defy rational thought. It is such a complicated and emotional issue that it is akin to trying to untangle cooked spaghetti.

In 1976 there was a horrible school bus crash in the town where I live. I just happened to be close to the bus when it veered over a guard rail and plunged to the ground. It was the most horrible thing I had or have, ever seen.29 people were killed, 26 of those were teenagers. The nightmares and the feeling of powerlessness was shocking and overwhelming. I still think of those souls when my truck passes over that same spot on that road. I still shudder when I see a wreath laid there- even forty years later. A tragedy is a tragedy, but who was to blame? The bus was in good repair. The road was in good repair, the bus driver was a professional, yet people died. Who gets the blame? The road? The bus driver? God? 

1927, Bath, Michigan. Andrew Kehoe killed 38 school children, himself and his wife, plus a lot of other innocent first responder,as well as all of his animals. He didn't shoot them. He blew most of them up with dynamite, bludgeoned his wife, set fire to his horses, before blowing himself and a few other townsfolk to Kingdom Come. Who was at fault?  My first thought is Andrew Kehoe. It doesn't make me feel any better to say he was evil, or misunderstood or a victim of his past. But he was a killer. No one could have kept him from it.

The boy who shot up Sandy Hook School had no criminal record. As a matter of fact, a lot of people have no criminal records. They might have a history of acting strangely, of not conforming to the usual mores of their society, but so did Picasso,and Jack London, and Christopher Colombus. There is no crime in being different and strange - and here is the slippery slope- no way to pick out the ones that will kill. (I think Hollywood made a movie about that very idea not long ago starring Tom Cruise). What will we be getting ourselves into if we try to predict who will kill and who will not?

Would stronger gun laws stop the killings? No, it wouldn't. It would only put the rest of us at more risk. Living in California,one of the most stringent States for gun laws, I can tell you that a gun is still a very easy thing to get- especially if you are intent on doing harm. Gun laws are for the law abiding. Do our California laws help the situation- I believe that they do. I myself have refused to sell a firearm to unstable individuals, and I called all of my contacts to make sure that the individual in question wouldn't be able to buy from a reputable dealer. Did it stop anyone ultimately? Who knows. It all boils down to what the liberals don't want to hear- personal responsibility.

I  believe that there is evil in our world. I carry firearms to protect myself and those that I love from that evil. I have done my soul searching and have come to the conclusion that I am willing to kill for my loved ones, and for myself, if I had to.I am prepared to make the distinction and abide by the consequences.
 Am I mentally unstable? Am I a threat to society? I think not.  If you didn't know me, you wouldn't guess I would blow you out of your shoes if you threatened my family or property.

So the debate will rage on. I will (try) to keep my cool and not retort to the mass hysteria circulating through the internet. I will remain personally responsible, because that is the way I was raised.
Will my firearms be taken away?
When they pry them from my cold dead hands...