Have gun laws gone too far for the wrong people?

What about my rights?

picture is from ambientparadise.com/

I woke up today and had the urge to go over to the shooting range and fire off a few shots of my 9 mm pistol and relax a bit after a long mid-week. Oh, but then I forgot, in Chicago, you can’t own a handgun, oh, I forgot, you can’t carry concealed, oh, I forgot, you can’t go to a range, oh, and, in a way, you can’t defend yourself.

The fact that I am an experienced gun user who is responsible enough to always lock up my firearm when not in use and the fact that there are tens of thousands if not more others out there that are the same doesn’t seem to matter to certain governments like here in Chicago and in my home city of NY. I’m sure a lot of us can identify, there have been more than a few times I’ve felt deprived or even suffered a real lack of safety because of these silly laws that really just put the normal, upright standing citizens of our cities at a real disadvantage on the streets. You never know, as you walk the streets or ride the trains, you can be sure you’ve passed someone at one time or another who is a criminal and was probably carrying an illegal firearm themselves. It’s not a level playing field.

Gun control has just gone too far when the criminals have all the power and we as citizens are relegated to waiting for help from the police if something dangerous happens or is about to happen. The police are never around when you need them (as the adage goes) and they are all shorthanded now as well thanks to the economy and our government that eats up our resources and takes away from education and law enforcement programs first. This issue weighs heavily on me, I’ve lived in the south and I felt much safer when I felt the law followers and the law breakers were on even ground. I followed the laws and got training in everything so I would not make mistakes, like fathers who don’t lock up their guns, or people who have a chance to defend themselves but hurt someone else or lose out because they don’t know what they’re doing. That’s just unforgivable.

A firearm is a tool, a well crafted, (I would say an) essential tool in some places and as a tool, licenses and training should be asked for, provided, and required. The good people who only wish to follow all the rules and defend themselves should not be the ones who are hurt by our country’s laws. Studies have been shown that the crime rate is lowered if people in cities and towns, residential and commercial areas, know that the other guy (or girl) might be packing. There is a true sense of security as well knowing that you have the training and means to take care of your friends and family if needed. As I said, I feel very strongly about these issues, I have been a member of the NRA but don’t write this on their behalf. I really believe as citizens, we shouldn’t have to leave our protection to a financially strapped organization like the police department, we should be able to take care of ourselves. Anyone who doesn’t believe in that and works to tie our hands and leave us law abiding citizens at a disadvantage over the criminals out there, you do us an extreme disservice and we’ll all pay for it someday.

Sure, I won’t deny that there are the above mentioned unreliable people who actually leave their families in danger by not locking up their firearms and observing proper safety standards but they are few and far between the ones that are responsible. They are ruining the respectable gun owner’s reputation and I call on all of us to make sure that we all know enough to be safe “protectors of the peace,” each and everyone of us.

One last remark: I’m a moderate that is receptive to both sides of the issue and I respect those that don’t like guns or who think the common man or woman should not own them. I have heard from those who have been saved by firearms and those who have been victimized by them. I simply think that our society would be better off with the “option” to be trained to own and use them. Thanks.

Microblog (that turned out to be not so micro) on Testing

http://bit.ly/eM1rC (from the NY Times) (picture from another blog)

I read the Times this morning as I often do on Saturday mornings and I was taken aback by a story on China's testing policy. Some people are really against tests and I too do not think paper pencil tests or multiple choice tests could ever be better than my preferred test, practical clinical real world experience tests, but they are the easiest to grade ... whoop di doo.

I read this article though and I couldn't agree more about how this is definitely not a good practice because one test should never be the end all doorway to a person's future but you know what? I can identify with this situation and I think, good, this is how the world really works. I'm a multiple victim of this type of test and sometimes I sit in the dark room in my mind thinking is this really how the world works? Isn't there a better way? Obviously yes but probably not more efficient or cost effective. It's a shame though to think that a test is the gateway to your future.

I really was encouraged by these students who decided to enroll in the military type academy that would hopefully help them to pass their exam though. And by the end of the article, they did make the cut. That's great. I feel their rapture and wish for the same joy in my future. It may not be the best situation or set up to prove one's readyness for the future but when people wonder why people who come from countries like China or India after being educated are so smart, this is why. And, it shouldn't be a crime (or seen as one) to want your country's students or graduates to have a certain standard to take on the world. I think more of this attitude is needed in the United States (probably disagreeing with a lot of my friends in education). In fact, I think this is the essense of NCLB even though I don't agree with the implementation. We are too lax when it comes to allowing our students to graduate with the needed knowledge and letting them go without the study skills they need as well. So many students including me had no training in how to study.

Anyway, this article touched off more continuous feelings to get rid of the test barrier in my life. I've been to review programs and though they were expensive and time consuming, they were not what I needed to prepare for my test. What do I need to overcome this barrier? I still don't know but I'm urged by these students' stories to find out. I've let Step 2 and previously Step 1 ruin many parts of my life from relationships, missing family events, emergencies, funerals, to jading me and making me extremely critical in my overall attitude about life. I've sacraficed and lost much too much to just let it go (although some say I should). Is it my stubborness that is wrong? Am I following the path God has set before me in Education? Should I go back to the health field which I still love so much. Do I have to give it up, should I? Some friends would argue that one is clearly my intended and God given path and others would tell me never give up no matter what. I count myself as a devout follower of God but I don't see the solution and no path is clear no matter how many times I ask for clarity. Go one way and you will definitely make it but longing for the other for the rest of time, go the other way and you have a history of not being able to cut it hanging over your head which might destroy you psychologically when it's over. Life is a crazy and more often than not, one test IS the key to the future. I wish that I was prepared better for it and had a situation more like those in China, mostly the passing part. I've been to review programs though, there's something else I need. Not sure what, but I'm going to try to find out.