Guns

I know, I know, I said that I would stop going to those forums with all those crazy women, but every once in a while I pop in to see if there is anything relevant to my life there. Every time I do, I just get annoyed. It really never ceases to amaze me how many of the women on that forum reinforce the negative stereotypes of Americans that I have built up over the year. The most recent thread that has made me shake my head is about guns. It was started by a woman who was quite proud of the fact that she has always kept a gun in her car(!!) and one in her home as well, and she was wondering what other mothers have guns, and what they will do when their babies get a little older, as in will they get rid of their guns, or what. Wow. So far there are 18 or so responses, and except for 2 or 3, everyone else says they have a gun, and are happy with that. One woman told us how she reamed out her sons teacher for telling the class that guns are dangerous. Well duh! Of course they are freaking dangerous! Anyways, another one was puzzled about people who keep their guns locked up, how do you get to the gun to shoot someone if you have to open a safe?

I have never understood the American "right to bear arms." If you look at the number of gun deaths in Canada compared to the USA, it's quite amazing. We have strict gun laws here, and although a lot of people don't like them, it does make a difference. The American government is constantly complaining about B.C.'s pot, but I really don't think that our marijuana kills as many Americans as their guns kill Canadians, though I could be wrong. I read this week that over 50% of the illegal guns in Canada are smuggled in from the US, and now the American senate is passing a law to protect people who sell guns from wrongful death lawsuits. Even the gun dealers who are blatantly irresponsible in selling guns without background checks, or even checking a persons ID, for that matter.

I was in the military, I know how to fire a rifle, I have fired a rifle on several occasions. I have a healthy respect for guns, and you know what, I do thinks guns are bad, and dangerous. Some people argue that guns are a tool, and no more dangerous than any other tool, and I seriously disagree. Very few tools, even those that can kill you if used improperly, are designed for the express purpose of killing a person. Yes, there are tools that can be used as weapons, but a gun is a weapon, nothing else.