Guns-A Late Entry

This is from an e-mail from a friend about his thoughts about owning a gun in America. I thought it was worth sharing and brings up some really good points.
Discuss

1) Do I own a gun? The answer is yes, I own 3.
1.a) do I lock it up? ALWAYS! I remember when I turned 21 & a bunch of my friends went & bought firearms. They would not lock them or keep them safely hidden… I disagreed with this very strongly; I didn’t get my first gun until I was older simply because I wasn’t ready. I keep my guns locked up & most importantly… UNLOADED! The reasoning is simple; the owner of the gun is really the only person that needs to have access to the firearm. Locking it up & keeping it unloaded ensures that no one else uses or more importantly misuses the gun without the knowledge of the owner.

2) How do I feel about people owning hand guns? I feel like firearms need strict policies to ensure safety but bearing arms are part of everyday life as Americans. I feel very lucky to be able to own guns. Although we don’t have anything stated in the Constitution about the right to drive a car I feel very similar about both. I have been told that driving a car is not a right but a privilege… I wish it were the case for owning firearms. I say this because I feel like anyone that is against owning firearms is simply uninformed & that with the proper information the answer is simple. Guns are not the problem… stupid people are. Do we need more firearm training & safety education? My answer would be an overwhelming yes, but not to the point that gun ownership would become over restricted for law abiding citizens.

3) Do I feel safer that our policemen carry guns? YES!!! I wish it were not the case but with many criminals carrying guns themselves (almost always illegally obtained I might add) I feel that the men & women of law enforcement need to protect themselves adequately. I know many police officers whom I call dear friends & I speak with them openly about the stress & rigors of their work environment. Although sometimes petty & mundane they must always be prepared for a day when they will need to fire their weapon… believe it or not most cops that you talk to hope that day never comes. Ask someone who has been saved by police intervention in a violent situation & see if they favor the police carrying firearms? I suppose on the flip side ask someone who has lost a loved one from wrongful fire from the police & their answer will be different. However I think that statistics will show that those cases are outnumbered by good cops simply doing their jobs. Sadly we hear about the negatives much much more… as we know bad press makes the best press

4) I grew up in a good home in a very safe neighborhood. Since growing up & traveling I have been involved in some pretty scary situations where my life has been in danger. I feel like after these instances I felt like properly familiarizing myself with self defense… remember that phrase “self defense”. I will always enjoy learning more & more about survival & guns are a part of this. This does not mean that bc I own a gun that I am some right wing militia-esc whacko… simply a man who likes to exercise his freedom to protect his property & his own person. After all human nature isn’t that tough to figure out so being prepared shouldn’t be looked down upon.