Blog Sin City

I have been around firearms all of my life, in fact, I owned my first rifle and shotgun before I was in kindergarten! I grew up in a home where firearms were a daily thing and readily available and we NEVER had an accident even with cousins and friends coming in and out of the house on a regular basis. That’s why it really saddened me to read over the past couple of weeks about a couple of shooting incidents involving children “playing” with their parents’ firearms.

Now, I’m going to start with a bold statement and then explain myself. “Guns do NOT kill people, people kill people.” I remember my early high school years studying Industrial Arts and Auto Shop. We were so excited to “get to work.” Our instructors knew the dangers associated with tools, especially power tools, and took us through the process of “de-mystifying” them and teaching us the safety rules.

Firearms are only tools. Each caliber, gauge or style has a specific purpose that it was made for—people, bigger isn’t always better. If you use the right tool for the right job you will never go wrong!

The problems we read about so often occur when kids make statements like, “My dad has a real cool gun…wanna see it?” When this happens the weapon looses its function as a tool and becomes a mystical, magical item to show off with to earn status among peers. The two primary reasons people get hurt with firearms outside of criminal activity is lack of safety and stupidity. When someone doesn’t have the right training or misuses ANY tool, people often get hurt. Don’t hide your weapons from your children. Don’t make it a secret. “De-mystify” it and teach them safe and correct practices. Be the parent! Follow local firearm laws and use your tools appropriately.

This brings me to my next point, a little piece I call “Criminal Mindset vs. Lawful Mindset.” A person who obeys the law looks at a fence or padlock and says, “That’s somewhere I should stay out of.” A criminal looks at the same area and says, “There must be something worth stealing in there….I wonder how difficult it would be to get in?” Put very simply, “rules” and “laws” don’t apply to criminals because they make a life out of breaking and getting around them. Regardless of how many weapons laws and restrictions are made, criminals will ALWAYS find a way to make, steal, or acquire a weapon. Fences and locks can act as a deterrent to crime because they make “the pickings” more difficult. But well-informed citizens who obey the law and are armed are the most difficult targets—criminals will almost always move on to easier prey.

The unfortunate reality is that we really have no ability, currently, to defend what is rightfully ours. We only have the ability to defend our lives or the life of another.

Regardless of where you stand on gun control laws and regulations, there is one universal truth: action or the lack of action always has a consequence. It is not my place to tell you how to live your life and what to believe in, but I urge you to do what’s right by your children and teach them how to use the things around them properly. Teach them to live as a part of the world and not in fear of it. Empower them with a sense of stewardship and responsibility—ESPECIALLY IF YOU OWN A FIREARM!!!