“Aim, and squeeze the trigger slowly.”
These words were spoken to me at the age of four as I sat on my father’s lap shooting my first gun, a .22-caliber bolt-action Chipmunk rifle.
Guns have been a huge part of my life. Since the age of four, I have competed in shooting competitions; I have been on hunts and I even shoot firearms for recreational purposes.
Although some might say that letting a four-year old shoot a gun is “child abuse,” I disagree with this statement. As a proud American citizen who stands for her second amendment right, I am against gun control.
I hold guns to a high honor and reverence. I know that in the wrong hands they can hurt others, and I know that if you do not always treat any gun as a loaded gun, chances are, you do not need to be around firearms.
Ever since I can remember, the philosophy to respect weapons was instilled in my head. I never messed with my father’s firearms unless he was around to help me. I never played with them, nor did I touch them. I understood from an early age the power of this weapon, and I was taught to respect that power. Even going hunting and being around others who owned guns, I never feared for my life, nor was I scared in any way. I knew that the people I was with respected guns as much as I did, and they knew that safety was a top priority for all of us.
Fast-forwarding to now, as a young lady who keeps up with the news and hears about the escalating crime rates, I fear for my protection and safety.
Putting gun control on top of that, I really fear for my protection. Let us have a scenario where someone is breaking into my house, and guns have been banned. Since 911 is my only option besides a kitchen knife, (which is getting too close-range to the perpetrator) I am going to call and wait for help. When would that help arrive, though? By the time the dispatcher has sent help, three or even more minutes might have passed. On top of that, add in eight minutes until help arrives. At this point in our scenario, where is the burglar, but more importantly, what would be my physical condition? Would I be sexually assaulted or even dead? Do you think that I could talk to the burglar and work out a deal? Of course not.
Gun control is taking away a law-abiding citizen’s right, and technically telling the criminals to go at it and have a good time.
Why would a criminal listen to the law? They never do.
Since I obey the law, I am surrendering my right to protect myself, and I am making myself vulnerable to anything.
Cities that restrict the rights of owning firearms, such as Chicago, have some of the highest gun-related crimes in the country. Why? Again, the law-abiding citizens will follow the rules while a criminal will find a way to break it.
If one unarmed civilian, just one, would have had a firearm in the Paris massacres (due to France’s high gun control regulations), how many lives could have been saved?
The founding fathers of this nation set up firearm rights to protect our families and ourselves. Compare this to world dictators, such as Hitler, Mao, and Stalin. They took away guns to control their countries with an iron fist, and that in turn led to the murder of millions and millions of their own citizens.
I just have something to say for all of the pro-gun control actors, musicians, and government officials out there. If you are so big into taking away the American people’s guns, why do you not disarm your bodyguards and security teams?
As one of my favorite columnists, Thomas Sowell, wrote, “How many often supposedly mentally unbalanced shooters open fire at a National Rifle Association Meeting? None.”
