In today's "Times" there were two separate stories that made me reflect for a moment about gun rights in general.The first has to do with the highly publicized story of the murder of Amanda Bach. At this time they have a suspect, they have determined that she was shot, and that she did not suffer; there is at least that, I suppose. Now, what I like to do is be a "facebook troll". Yes, I surf around and see what people are saying about one issue or another. It's not only entertaining, it's very informative. For example, I'll see a comment about one issues or another, and I'll check "info" on that person and see what they have to say about themselves. It's kind of like conducting miniature polls for my own amusement; people who say A are more likely liberal, people who say B are more likely conservative, etc., etc.
Not too surprisingly, there were a handful of those that listed "liberal" or "very liberal" in their info who decided that this was an example of why guns should be outlawed. Now, I don't want to automatically pigeon hole ALL liberals; after all, there were many who said nothing of the sort. But the few that there were really made me think to myself, "My God I hope this person never holds any position of power." Rather, I ask the opposite question: What would be different is SHE was packing heat?
Certainly it can't be said with 100% certainty that either A)she wasn't or B)it would have changed the situation any, but it does make one wonder, none the less.
The second story in the paper is one about a man who was open carrying his weapon at the zoo.From what I understand, he was asked by security to conceal his weapon and he made quite the fuss about it; to the point where he was escorted out because other patrons were becoming frightened.
I don't open carry very often; I prefer people to not know that I have my gun on me, because if it's out in the open I'm the first person a "bad guy" is going to shoot, because he knows I have a gun. BUT it is important to open carry every so often, as my buddy Greg at work says, "because if you don't use your rights you lose them". In this situation, first of all, even the security says that it wasn't that he had the gun on him; rather, there were people (and kids) there who were uncomfortable with the gun being out in the open. What the man SHOULD have done was to calmly conceal the gun and go about his day, simply because the fact that it was a public place where children were made it a little understandable that security would be concerned. But it is still his right to carry it that way, and so what security should have done was quietly pull him over to the side, check his permit, and ask him politely if he would conceal the weapon. When the man said no, they should have told him "fair enough" and then told the patrons that were complaining that it was his right, but if they felt nervous they would keep a close eye on him (which is THEIR right, as well). All in all, there is no reason that as a gun owner and carrier that one has to be a jerk about it. There are a lot better places to open carry than the zoo.
