THE QUESTION OF GUNS IN THE USA
April 10th 2009. ABC's 20/20 had a full hour on "If I Only Had a
Gun." After the Virginia mass killings, the "authorities" were
going to close the loop-holes in buying guns.
But nothing has changed.
I'm not going to get into the debate of should Americans be
allowed guns? Or probably to be more specific, should there be
strict background checks before guns are sold to anyone?
One fact brought out that for MOST of the USA you can still walk
into a gun shop or gun exhibition and simply buy guns of just
about every size and power, with just handing over the money, no
questions asked.
ABC gave $5,000 to a brother whose sister was killed in that
Virginia mass killings of students. He was sent to a "gun show"
to see how many question he would be asked and how many guns he
could buy within one hour with $5,000. He was able to buy a
trunk full, from pistols to semi-automatic assault rifles. One guy
on the assault rifle asked to see his drivers licence. It was not
given and the seller said, "Well, okay, give me $100 more, and
I'll take a chance on you."
Something is DRASTICALLY wrong when people can buy guns with no
questions asked. In Canada you have to have a "gun licence"
(which means at least up to that point, you've passed a test, and
had background check). Sure honest "good citizen" should not
disapprove of having a background check and carry a licence to
carry a gun.
Well putting the debate on all that to aside. Here is some
shocking facts, for the USA.
1. 60,000 .... yes I said 60 thousand kids and youths and others
have been killed by firearms in the last 10 years.
2. Still too many parents in homes leave their loaded firearms
where their children can find them ... and LOADED!. Often the
kids find them and pull the trigger killing friends accidently.
Or kids firing the gun and killing themselves accidently.
3. One in three households have some kind of a gun that can kill.
4. What about young men and women who have training in using
firearms, they can shoot darn good at the shooting range. ABC did
two experiments. Class room setting, so 15 to 20 in class. They
were all wearing full protective helmets and bullet-proof
clothing. There was a few doors. They were (this one man and one
woman) told the gun man would burst in. The young man and woman
were told they could draw and fire at will at the gunman. The
scene with the guy went first. The other students were police
dressed as classmates. Immediately you had people scattering all
over the place, as the two gun men went at it. You had people running
in front of the gun, jumping over desks, all this while the two
gun men duked it out with guns, blazing away at each other.
The first young man (a gun range shooter) did not but only
grace the pretended bad guy's shoulder. The police man as the bad
guy hit the young man enough times that he would probably have
died from the shots that hit his chest area.
The second scene, was even more shocking, for the young lady
was quite the marksman or woman (being politically correct) at the
gun range. Two of her shots hit the wall, two hit the carpet, one
grazed the bad guy, hardly would have drawn any blood. But she was
shot 5 times in the chest to stomach area. Serious enough put you
down and probably killed. She was quite SHOCKED at how badly she did
in a pretend real life shoot-out. She was no Roy Rogers (who was a
truly skilled marksman in real life).
It shows that you may be a great shooter at the range, but in a
real life shoot to the death, all kinds of things kick in, tunnel
vision, and just no where near as calm and as steady like being on
the range shooting at a target you know cannot shoot back. The
evil fellow pulling the trigger at you is of course in a somewhat
calm mind, he's probably been planning it all, so somewhat "cool,
calm, and collective" as they say.
Depending where you live, the crime rate, what kinds of
crime, you may need to protect your home and family, but for
goodness sake keep those guns and rifles locked up, especially if
they are loaded. Sure make sure you can get into them...fast, fast,
if your home and family are threatened.
Many times it's being careful where you go, you had better
know the areas of your town to stay out of during the night, and
some even during the day. You need to be wise in WHERE and
WHEN you go to places. I lived in Florida from 1990 to 1994,
Clearwater/St.Peterborough then Tamarac, a part of Fort
Lauderdale, I did travel to Miami number of times. Did my
travelling during the day, and did not go at night, except
walking around the housing complex where I lived. Never had a gun,
period! Actually felt very safe. I never even saw a crime being done.
Travelled all over the USA in the last nearly 50 years now, and had
no gun, but sure stayed out of "bad areas."
Maybe I also had a guiding and protective hand around me.
The angels serve those who shall inherit the Kingdom.
If you have guns, (apparently one in three homes in the USA
do have guns) please, please, protect them from the naive minds of
children, if they should find them. Teach them a great deal
of respect towards them, and that they are nothing to be fooled around
with.
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