GUN VIOLENCE AND OWNERSHIP

 

 

The following is a comment I made on YELLOWDOG GRANNY’s   post.  

 

 

It is not about mass shooters, it is not about cop killing black people, it is not about dangerous militia; It is about guns: the availability of guns, the gun slinger attitude, the acceptance of a gun culture.   Yes, there are social, racist, anarchist, police militarization and mental illness factions that need to be addressed.   But it is the guns.  Guns are killing people.

 

I have lost count of the shootings this week.   Gun violence is now the normal.

 

I am not against gun ownership; but I am against guns being owned for the purpose of killing people. 

 

The answers are simple; but when half of the United States still believe that Donald Trump is the President in exile, there is no hope of common sense ever bringing about changes.

 

We don’t need to restrict guns; we need to address the need for them.  The only reason to own a gun in the United states is for hunting and home protection.  With that in mind, rifle and shotgun ownership should require a hunting license.  Pistol ownership should require a gun permit and background check.

 

Hunting rifles should be bolt-action and a maximum capacity of five rounds.   If you can’t take you prey with five shots you shouldn’t be out in the woods armed.  Shotguns should be single shot, double barreled, or pump with a three-shot capacity.  Handguns should be limited to a six-round capacity.

 

Military type assault weapons designed specifically to kill humans should be banned.

 

Police training, armament and use of force are a total other subject that should be addressed separately. 

 

This, of course, is pie-in-the-sky.  No common-sense gun regulation will ever be accomplished in the United States in the 21^st century.  We are a gun violent society.

 

How many hours before the next gun death, or should the question be in minutes?

the Ol’Buzzard   

 

 

I AM NOT ANTI-GUN

I am x-military, Vietnam vet.  I earned expert rifle and expert pistol ribbons and was on the Quonset Point Navy pistol team for two years.    

I don’t hunt any more, I don’t need the meat and the Idea of killing an animal for sport no longer appeals to me. 

I recently sold my 44 mag. that I had used for bear protection in Alaska when we had students in the woods.  I do feel better with a firearm in the house for protection; and so when my wife asked me what I wanted for Solstice I told her a Heritage single action 22 cal. pistol.  

It is now my habit to research anything I intend to purchase on YouTube.   There were numerous sights with some good reviews of the weapon; but I also ran into some of the crazy survivalist sights.   These people live in a make believe world.

One man said he stores his 22 cal. pistol and a 22 cal. semi auto rifle in his car trunk along with a backpack of survival items so if he is ever on a trip and the situation arises (zombies???) he can leave his car and ‘bug out.’

Another man was saying that a 22 cal. is not lethal enough for ‘neighborhood defense’ and that if he and his neighbors ever have ‘to make a stand’ he prefers a larger, semi-automatic pistol and assault weapon.   He failed to mention who he intends to repel -  perhaps the 101^st Airborne, Delta force, or the maybe the 1^st Marine division… or aliens... zombies?

There is a difference between gun owners and gun nuts.   These survivalists I place in the same ‘living in a fantasy’ category as people who believe in Noah’s Ark and immaculate conception.  

Ignorance is a choice today, and there are a hell of a lot of ignorant people occupying this country – it is just the way it is, and you can’t fix stupid.

Just my observation

the Ol’Buzzard