January 20, 2013
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Just couldn’t do it
Before I get into this, let me assure everyone I am all for the 2nd Amendment, and don’t want to see our right to bear arms taken away. Also, as I approach my 57th birthday, I often think about how older people are taken advantage of and easy targets for criminals. I am not “elderly” by any means, yet, but still feel like there will come a time when I will need to be able to protect myself.
Roger and I went to a gun store yesterday. I couldn’t do it. I started feeling weird – kind of like I felt when I went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and hated seeing all those animals in captivity – big whales in tanks…it just left me feeling uneasy, shakey, queasy, etc. Roger asked me to try out a pistol. I handed it right back to him and said it was too heavy. He started to ask the guy for another one and I said “No, let’s just go. There are too many people in here.” I am normally not claustrophobic, but being in this gun store (which was pretty big) made me feel uneasy. On the drive back home, I was near tears. All I could think was that the main purpose of those things is to kill. I still don’t know if I could kill someone to protect myself. I told Roger that before we even think about buying a gun, I would need to take a class in how to use one, and go to a range and get used to the feel of it.
I almost feel like a vegan being forced to eat meat.
Comments (8)
I know what you mean. And it’s ok not to feel the need to own a gun to protect yourself. And by all means, anyone who is even thinking of owning a gun should take a class and learn about it properly, and gun safety, and practice using it so if you ever have to defend yourself, you’ll feel comfortable enough to do it.
I know how you feel. I’ve never used a gun and I hope to never have to.
This won’t surprise you, but I agree with you entirely.
I too totally support the Second Amendment, and every citizen has the right to bear arms (I don’t think that anyone outside of the military needs assault weapons, though). I do think that any responsible gun owner would want to take classes and practice at the range regularly.
I couldn’t have a gun in my house. Fortunately Rick feels the same way. He carried a gun the entire time he was in the military, and has never carried since. He thinks much like you do – he says that a person shouldn’t own a gun unless they’re willing to kill someone with it. He would have done that in the military, but he’s not willing to do that now.
I have disliked guns for as long as I can remember. My first experience with guns was seeing my uncles use them to kill rabbits and squirrels for dinner. From then on I hated them. No guns for me ever. I guess I would die before using one.
Only once have I been tempted to own a gun, and that was when I lived in Vegas and my then-husband was gone all the time. The area in which we lived didn’t feel safe, and it crossed my mind. But with two little kids, I couldn’t see the point of it since it would have to be kept unloaded and/or locked up away from them — wouldn’t help much if someone broke in. I kept a hammer and can of bug spray near my bed instead
I shot 22 rifles at targets in camp when I was about 13, but that’s it — I don’t think I’d be comfortable holding a handgun at all. No thanks.
Just because you support the second amendment, doesn’t mean you have to want to own a gun. But I would definitely agree that a class is a must, if you do want to have one. It’s the responsible and safe thing to do.
I don’t own a guy, don’t shoot either but completely support the right for anyone else to do so. I’ve shot .306, .22, 12 gauge shotguns and never really felt like I had much control. We own a bullet reloading company with my sil and I still don’t have any desire to shoot.
I know just how you feel. Don’t own a weapon. Afraid I might be tempted to use it.
But, I reserve the right to obtain one, should I feel the need.
I could easily kill a man if he was trying to kill me, especially if he was trying to kill my wife. I could do it as easily as I have killed other vermin such as cockroaches and mice, and I could do it either armed or with my bare hands. Your concerns about getting older are valid. Hopefully your husband has a mentality more like mine. It sounds like he may.