An Ode to Weaponry

Here in Canada, where the gun haters and their puppet masters in Parliament have us spending (so far) well over a billion dollars on an ineffective gun control registry, owning guns is not only difficult but dangerous as well. Not dangerous in that the owner is likely to shoot himself in the foot, more so in that if he doesn't register his weapons he is likely to be fined or jailed or both.

The anti-gun hysteria has always puzzled me. When I was a kid, virtually every boy had a BB or pellet gun. So did some girls. Many had .22 calibre rifles. Guns were left, loaded and unlocked, in the home. I never heard of anyone shooting themselves or their friends and neighbours. Fathers everywhere taught kids about guns and everyone was safer for it.

Break-ins were rare. I don't recall a single instance of any family I knew having someone break into their house. After all, if anyone really wanted something, all they had to do was open the door to just about any home and walk in. Doors were often left unlocked. There was no need to lock them.

Now, just about everyone in the fairly upscale neighbourhood where I live has had a break-in of some sort, into their home or garage or garden shed or automobile. Homeowners not only have no guns around to deter criminals, they have to be very careful how they protect themselves and their property lest they, instead of the criminal perpetrating a crime, end up in jail.

I think this is all way beyond silly. It is downright stupid.

I want my son to understand exactly how the world works. I want him to see the good, the bad and the ugly. I want him to know what works, and why. I want him to know what doesn't work, and why not. Delegating responsibility for the safety of individuals to police forces doesn't work. As hard as they might try, they can't be everywhere at the same time. By the time a policeman arrives on the scene of a crime, it is usually too late for them to do anything to prevent or protect.

I want my son to understand that guns are merely a collection of metal parts and that they are not inherently evil. A gun is a thing. It has no mind of its own. It can't maim or kill on its own. It requires a human hand on the handle, a human finger against the trigger and a human mind to decide whether pulling the trigger is justified under the circumstances present.

Don't outlaw guns. Outlaw idiots instead.

So what do I do to teach my son about guns? It isn't easy to do so here in Canada. On our recent trip to the United States, we spent several days in Las Vegas. While there, I took him to a gun store. There, in cabinets around the perimeter of the store, were every sort of handgun you can imagine. There, hanging along all four walls, were every sort of rifle and shotgun you can imagine, including automatic weapons. Customers were encouraged to step behind the counter to another part of the building where they could squeeze off a few rounds in the on-site firing range. We could hear the rat-a-tat-tat of automatic machine gun fire from the store.

I showed my son around the store, explaining all the different kinds of weapons there and what they might be used for. He listened and learned. I should have been able to do that as easily right here in Ontario, Canada.