"Is that a .357?" asked the thin, quiet twenty-something guy from Lawrence during the break, pointing at the Ruger Service Six classroom gun. I told him it was. "I got shot with one of those. The hollow point bullet is still inside. Here's where it hit and went into my kidney." The kid had the scar to prove it.
I didn't ask who shot him, or if he had it coming. He seemed like a nice guy, and you don't take a firearms safety course if you have a criminal record. We chatted for a few minutes about what kind of semi-auto he should buy for home protection, and he was disappointed to find out the Lawrence Police would probably restrict his license against concealed carry.
I never saw him at the club after that. He most likely got his License to Carry and is a peaceful gun owner like the vast majority of us. Though I don't know his relationship or feelings toward the shooter, I do know that he's thoughtful enough to not blame the gun, the inanimate object. Instead, he saw the gun as the most useful tool for his protection.
Politicians and activists love to trot out gunshot victims as an emotional appeal for new legislation. The high-profile ones tour the country and make movies that try to persuade us of the need to ban guns. But they're the extreme outliers.
In judging the honesty and character of gunshot survivors, would you favor the one who quietly becomes a legal gun owner himself and takes responsibility for his safety, or the one who makes a living trying to ban the one thing that could have saved the lives of the people in the room with him?
Thoughts on competitive shooting, gunsmithing, gun control and what it's like to be a Massachusetts gun owner.
No comments:
Post a Comment