Guns

I'm afraid of guns. They make a very loud noise, and they can kill. I think these are reasons enough to be afraid of something, but even if that weren't enough, they are something which I'll never be able to master. In order to use a gun effectively, you have to aim. I'm not able to see well enough to do that. And from everything I've ever heard, the gun that you don't hit your target with is far more dangerous to you than the one you DO hit your target with.

Still, despite my fear, I understand that there is no putting this particular horse back into its barn. I get rather angry at people who try actually. See, I don't trust. Anyone. Most especially not my government. (If I did, my ancestors on my Scots and Native American side would rise up and bitch slap me!) I don't believe that my government has my best interests at heart, I don't believe that its going to protect me, and furthermore, I do believe that it s actively working to suck as much life out of the American people, in order to keep us happily working to serve the ends of those who run said government (i.e. those in power. Please note: I don't think this has anything to do with party lines. I'm too much a student of history to buy that for one second. Power corrupts even the most well intentioned.)So, I don't trust my government. At all. Hey, its a proud American Tradition. Might just be the FIRST of those proud American Traditions!

That's why I get angry at people who stand around spewing nonsense like "Only criminals and thugs need guns on the streets!" or "Law abiding citizens shouldn't need a gun to defend themselves!" or "Only the police should be legally allowed to carry weapons!". Uh. . .What the fuck? Don't any of you READ? Do you read the Constitution, which I had to pass a test on in order to pass my U.S. History class in high school? Do you read history?

For those who aren't aware, the drafters of the Constitution very clearly put in the bill of rights, at point number 2, that the citizenry has the right to bear arms. For those of you who might be ignorant, this doesn't mean the right to run around and wave your arms in the air. It means to carry guns. At the time of the drafting of the Constitution, the average army soldier carried the same equipment that was available to any man who could afford the same. In other words, the playing field was (by and large) level.

I'm of the opinion that the citizenry should have the right to access the same guns the military does. I don't like it that the military has the ability to wipe out a whole town. It means that this country could turn into a dictatorship on a dime, and there is nothing that can be done to stop it.

That doesn't mean I like guns. It doesn't mean I'll ever own a gun, or that I have any business picking one up. What is means is I want a level playing field - admittedly a playing field at which I am, of necessity, a spectator.

Lately, I've heard the interns debating gun law this past week. Since I can't scream "Read a history book you Assholes!" at the interns, I guess I came to rant here. Thanks for listening.