Thursday, November 10, 2005

A Notice to Gun Banners

I was reading various things about San Francisco’s new gun ban. Alphecca has a post on it with many comments. I even cruised over to Democratic Underground to read fevered rantings.

Here’s a sample if you can stomach it, “They only stopped at handguns. They should have banned every type of weapon from handguns, rifles, shotguns, to bows 'n arrow. They are only used to kill or inflict injury to animals and people. This ain't Dodge City, and we don't need a bunch of Wyatt Earps running around! Today San Francisco, tomorrow, the world!” (posted by Hogwyld on 11/9/2005 at 4:06pm).

I need to rant on this topic so bear with me; it’s going to be a bumpy ride. First, I want to thank NRA for their rapid response. They are already filing suit to stop this April Fool’s joke (the ordinance becomes effective on April 1, 2006).

Second, I want bitch about people who want to change our way of life by eradicating gun ownership. San Francisco’s ban aims to do exactly that and its author called it “sensible gun control.” So, because total bans are deemed sensible; even the most political ignorant gun owner now understands what sensible really means.

When we argue with these anti-freedom idiots, we often mention self-defense. Guns are after all the best defense tool we have. But, there’s more I want to tell these gun bigots. I want to tell them about the sheer joy of owning and shooting guns.

Most gun-banners refuse to see that shooting is a wonderful source of fulfillment. They tell us to get a new hobby as if that were a valid choice. They forget that a hobby is also called an avocation: that is, an occupation separate from one’s employment that brings enjoyment. What gives them any right to tell us how to use our time and money?

Gun-banners don’t want me to enjoy shooting and owning guns. They want me to feel guilty about actions taken by criminals, murderers, gang-bangers, and suicides. They want me to “realize” that my sport and hobby (said with a dismissive sneer) is an issue of public health. They want me to bow before their gods of “the needs of the many outweigh the rights of the few” and the community is more important than the individual.

I have news for them. A community is made up of individuals and anytime you take away one person’s rights you diminish that community. Each community is made up of groups: gun owners, gun haters, gays, straights, whites, blacks, liberal, conservative. Each group must respect each other and learn to compromise in order to live together.

Gun banners don’t want to live with gun owners and their idea of a compromise is a total ban. They call us cowboys, trigger-happy rednecks, and so many other kind terms. Granted we respond in kind—I sneer a little myself when I type gun-banner, but we didn’t attack them first.

Banners want to change my way of life, because they believe they know how to live my life better than I do. They want to ban my guns, or ban certain guns they don’t like, to tax ammo, to ban hunting, or whatever scheme excites them at the moment.

Despite gun banners’ best efforts, I don’t feel guilty about owning guns. I don’t feel guilty when a criminal kills someone with a gun anymore than I feel guilty when a criminal kills someone with a kitchen knife. My rights are not subject to something a mutant does with an object.

Gun-banners want me to give up my so-called hobby. Well, I ain’t going to do it. I love shooting guns. I love the challenge of putting a small object into a ten ring at 200 yards with a rifle or 25 with a pistol. I love hitting a flying clay bird with a column of shot.

I’m not good at other sports and never have been. But, shooting is my sport and I love it and I’m damn good at it. I also love collecting guns and I’m as good at that as my pocketbook allows. My enjoyment of my sport is harmless.

Understand this you gun-banners. Your laws make my life harder. I moved out of Massachusetts largely because of your stupid gun laws. I once lived five minutes from work and I now live an hour away in New Hampshire. I made that move and many other compromises to live my life as I see fit. But you want to spread your poison further. You want the entire world to live your way—as Hogwyld said above.

Further if you ban my avocation and try to confiscate my guns you must realize that my love of guns and shooting is part of me. If you take that away, you diminish me and change who I am for the worse. I won’t let that happen and neither will the millions of Americans who join me in my sport. So leave us alone and we promise we won't make you own a gun.

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