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.