Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Question of the Day

Not making any judgments here, just asking:

Do you own a gun?  Why or why not?

Me: No.  In spite of my pacifist beliefs, I’m actually a pretty good shot with both a rifle and a shotgun.  But I have no desire to own one.

13 barks and woofs on “Question of the Day

  1. No, but I have seriously thought about it. I grew up in the West and almost everyone I knew had a gun, including my dad. I would get it for protection. I got a dog a few years ago for the same reason. She has a big scary bark, but is a sweetheart.

  2. I presently own 22 rifle, 22 pistol, 12 guage shotgun, 30-06 bolt action rifle, and 38 pistol. I am sure this sounds like alot of guns, but I really only shoot the 22’s regularly. Living where I do, most of my friends own more and shoot more often than I do.

  3. I don’t. Burglars almost always show up when you’re not home, and they first thing they steal is your gun, putting another one out on the street. Plus, in nearly 20 years and more then 20,000 calls as a paramedic, I only had one where someone shot an intruder in self defense, and that was still kind of iffy. I did, however, run dozens and dozens of calls where “I was cleaning it”, “I didn’t think it was loaded”, “I was showing it to a friend”, or “I don’t know…it just went off!”. If I lived out in the boonies I might consider it, but…no.

  4. Sort of depends on the definition of “own”. We don’t have one in our house. And with little kids around, I wouldn’t. But I have inherited guns — mostly of the shotgun variety — from my great-uncle and grandfather. My dad keeps them in the attic of their house in Arkansas. I haven’t seen them in years and years.

  5. Nope, never interested in guns. A horrible shooting happened here 2 days ago. A 16 year old girl was staying with her grandparents. Grandpa heard a noise at the door, grabbed his gun, and fired. The granddaughter is now in critical condition. A case of not thinking or checking before shooting.

  6. We used to have some six or more double-barrel shotguns, one I inherited from my father and the others we bought over the years we spent duck-shooting in a private duck marsh north of Toledo in the marshes at the shallow western edge of Lake Erie. We had retrievers, black labs, and the whole sport was a way to connect to the wildlife that populated the marsh, not just the migrating ducks and geese but mice and otters and wrens. We also loved visiting the plantation owned by friends that offered the very civilized sport of dove shooting. We’d been members of Ducks Unlimited for years until we stopped shooting and our dogs died. So, yes, I owned guns. But a few years ago we took them to a gun shop and sold them all. Our kids have lost any interest they had once for bird shooting so the guns in the attic were nothing but an enticement to burglars. We made quite a bit of money on the transaction even as we closed our eyes to the NRA recruitment posters in the shop. We despise that organization.

    Ask me and someday I’ll tell about the rationale for duck, goose, quail and other wing shooting. Believe me, there is one.

  7. We do have a shotgun in the house, but no handguns. We don’t hunt, tho’ I like game; and I didn’t allow any guns in the house when my children were young. I’ve thought about a handgun, but it would actually only be useful if I wore it ON my body at all times; does no good in the nightstand if I am attacked in the yard, for instance.

    We have a good dog presently. If I don’t have a dog at some point, I will again re-consider a handgun. I’m not afraid to use one, and shot pretty well with one back in Army days. Home invasions are on the rise in our area and they seem to target older folks. I’m not getting younger!

    • Well, there’s always 911 so if you carry your cellphone rather than pack a gun you’re probably safer in the long run. I believe there’s no reason for the private citizen to own any sort of gun other than those used for game or bird hunting – or varmint shooting as Mitt Romney would asy.

  8. When I was on the PD, I had three handguns, my issued duty weapon (a 9 mm) and an off-duty .38 with two-inch barrel (useless but it met the legal requirement that I be armed), and for very unusual circumstances, a Baretta .25 auto in a shoulder holster (yeah, I know, shades of James Bond). When I left the job, obviously I turned in the big one, and then I sold the little ones. No interest since then, although I’ve been thinking about getting a .38 four-inch barrel for target practice.

    As far as long uns, never had the money, and assault rifles or automatic weapons? Nope, never, and no one outside of active duty military or law enforcement needs AR-15s or anything like that. You don’t hunt quail with a .50 cal.

  9. I grew up in a home with guns and have always been comfortable with them. I took rifle safety back when that was the NRA’s purpose. However, the first time I shot a rabbit when I was 11, I decided I would never try to kill an animal again. When I was about 15 the kid across the street started a fight with my brother and I went and got my father’s rifle and was ready to go out in the back yard and shoot him, but decided then that having a gun around the house was probably not a really good idea. There have been many times I wish I had one close at hand and then in hindsight was grateful that I did not.

  10. I didn’t grow up with guns and have never developed an interest, plus I have many of the same objections as other commenters. I just lost my gun virginity last year at age 51–went trap shooting at a range with some other guys. I was happy to hit 4 out of 25 and not kill anyone.

Comments are closed.