I'm at an impasse (This is a hot button issue. If you reply yay or nay, please be civil)
I was awake a good portion of last night. Not because I watched something that scared the pants off of me, had a late cup of coffee or ate a pound of sugar, no, it's more than that. My mind was pretty much racing about a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out a figure eight.
See, I grew up with guns. I learned how to respect them. I learned how to use them and I used them well. I learned how to hunt and I went through a hunter's safety course and was certified. I was on the Rifle Team in High School and with some help from some friends, I made the top 500 Jr. NRA list. I have medals for sharpshooter and expert shooter from JROTC. Up until about twenty six years ago, I had guns in my home. I chose not to have them because of Andrea and the possibility of an accident happening and I think that my decision then was a sound one. I still do. So what's with the impasse? I don't know.
Make no mistake, I believe that our Second Amendment Right should never be taken away. I am a firm believer that we should never have our rights diminished in the way that they are now, and I am considering having a gun in my home again. Not because I live in a less than desirable neighborhood, its certainly not the best neighborhood but its not the kind that you hear gunshots every night. We still are able to walk our dogs without worrying about being mugged, but it doesn't mean that we are unprepared for that to happen. Children still play in the streets under the watchful eye of parents and neighbors, so we are not a neighborhood in distress.
One could say that the impasse is my moral compass. I believe in the death penalty as it is lawfully rendered and not a result of vigilantism. There are judges appointed and juries selected to make sure that all avenues are explored before a person is sentenced to death. How about the fact that I could put someone to death by my own hand, without the benefit of judge or jury because they threatened me or my family with like harm? I suppose that you could say, therein lies the impasse.....
If I decide that there is to be a gun in my house, then of course there will be so many precautions put in place so that there will be no possibility that Andrea could harm herself or anyone else, but there will also be that part of me that says, hey, you could be at the end of taking someone's life if you do. I have to say that there is still a lot of prayer to go into this before I pull the trigger, so to speak.
I also have to say to anyone who balks at this, let me ask you; If someone threatens you in your home would you just back into a corner and let the intruder take the lives of those you love or would you defend their lives with your very own, in whatever manner you could? Those who are anti-gun would say yes, that they would call 911 and wait for the police. Good plan, but it doesn't take but a few minutes to cut down a family and even a guard dog, but it could take more than five minutes, possibly longer than even that to have police protection there for you. Are you, or even am I, willing to wait that long for someone to help you if you can at least hold the intruder at bay yourself?
Trust me, if there is any threat to my home or my family, I could go batty insane on the, forgive me, idiot, that decides that he or she is going to invade my home or hurt me or my family and I would use any means at my disposal to make sure that my family is not harmed. Like I have said before, hurt my family and while I might be beat down in the process, but I will take a pretty good sized chunk of the perpetrator with me, no matter if it is a lead pipe, a baseball bat, a butcher knife or a gun.
Let me encourage you, Dear Readers, if you are at the same impasse that I am, don't take a knee jerk reaction to it. Think hard about it. Pray about it. Pray some more about it. Weigh the risks. Look at the Pros and Cons and see if the Pros outweigh the Cons. Determine what needs you have, where you live, where your moral compass points and go from there. Do not take this decision lightly. Prepare yourself and do it right. If you decide that having a gun in your home is the right thing, then take the courses to make sure that you know what you're doing. Know how to take care of the firearm that you choose, learn how to shoot it and learn how to shoot well and take the necessary precautions in your home to keep accidents from happening. Research before you buy and buy wisely and legally.
Have a wonderful and safe rest of the week!
See, I grew up with guns. I learned how to respect them. I learned how to use them and I used them well. I learned how to hunt and I went through a hunter's safety course and was certified. I was on the Rifle Team in High School and with some help from some friends, I made the top 500 Jr. NRA list. I have medals for sharpshooter and expert shooter from JROTC. Up until about twenty six years ago, I had guns in my home. I chose not to have them because of Andrea and the possibility of an accident happening and I think that my decision then was a sound one. I still do. So what's with the impasse? I don't know.
Make no mistake, I believe that our Second Amendment Right should never be taken away. I am a firm believer that we should never have our rights diminished in the way that they are now, and I am considering having a gun in my home again. Not because I live in a less than desirable neighborhood, its certainly not the best neighborhood but its not the kind that you hear gunshots every night. We still are able to walk our dogs without worrying about being mugged, but it doesn't mean that we are unprepared for that to happen. Children still play in the streets under the watchful eye of parents and neighbors, so we are not a neighborhood in distress.
One could say that the impasse is my moral compass. I believe in the death penalty as it is lawfully rendered and not a result of vigilantism. There are judges appointed and juries selected to make sure that all avenues are explored before a person is sentenced to death. How about the fact that I could put someone to death by my own hand, without the benefit of judge or jury because they threatened me or my family with like harm? I suppose that you could say, therein lies the impasse.....
If I decide that there is to be a gun in my house, then of course there will be so many precautions put in place so that there will be no possibility that Andrea could harm herself or anyone else, but there will also be that part of me that says, hey, you could be at the end of taking someone's life if you do. I have to say that there is still a lot of prayer to go into this before I pull the trigger, so to speak.
I also have to say to anyone who balks at this, let me ask you; If someone threatens you in your home would you just back into a corner and let the intruder take the lives of those you love or would you defend their lives with your very own, in whatever manner you could? Those who are anti-gun would say yes, that they would call 911 and wait for the police. Good plan, but it doesn't take but a few minutes to cut down a family and even a guard dog, but it could take more than five minutes, possibly longer than even that to have police protection there for you. Are you, or even am I, willing to wait that long for someone to help you if you can at least hold the intruder at bay yourself?
Trust me, if there is any threat to my home or my family, I could go batty insane on the, forgive me, idiot, that decides that he or she is going to invade my home or hurt me or my family and I would use any means at my disposal to make sure that my family is not harmed. Like I have said before, hurt my family and while I might be beat down in the process, but I will take a pretty good sized chunk of the perpetrator with me, no matter if it is a lead pipe, a baseball bat, a butcher knife or a gun.
Let me encourage you, Dear Readers, if you are at the same impasse that I am, don't take a knee jerk reaction to it. Think hard about it. Pray about it. Pray some more about it. Weigh the risks. Look at the Pros and Cons and see if the Pros outweigh the Cons. Determine what needs you have, where you live, where your moral compass points and go from there. Do not take this decision lightly. Prepare yourself and do it right. If you decide that having a gun in your home is the right thing, then take the courses to make sure that you know what you're doing. Know how to take care of the firearm that you choose, learn how to shoot it and learn how to shoot well and take the necessary precautions in your home to keep accidents from happening. Research before you buy and buy wisely and legally.
Have a wonderful and safe rest of the week!
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