By Gabby
I get very worried when I hear people say,
"I need a gun, for my safety."
We have established many times that a gun is an inanimate object, a tool, so how will this purchase create safety? I'd like every person out shopping for a gun to ponder these questions. What will you do once you are a gun owner? Will you take a class? Will you visit the range often? Will you conceal carry? Just as owning an oven doesn't make you a baker, and owning a saw doesn't make you a carpenter, owning a gun does not automatically instill the ability to defend. My main reason for owning guns, is because I love to shoot them. By enjoying their use and using them often, I gain skills that may help me to protect myself, but more importantly, those skills make me a more confident woman. Yes, I said More Important. I really do believe that criminals avoid confident targets. Growing up in NYC, this was repeated to us, school children, every year when a few NYPD officers would hold an assembly about safety. Basically, it was our only form of defense. We had to walk tall and alert, pay attention to our surroundings and avoid people, neighborhoods and times of day that were or seemed, high risk. This is still good advice, even with a gun on one's hip.
I don't think guns are for everyone. Plenty of people need to find some other method of self defense. A gun in the wrong hands (even a person who doesn't have criminal intent) can be a hazard to all of us. But more people need to try shooting for the fun of it. Because it is fun, and it can be rewarding as well.
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