High ho, Controversy, away!

I'm just pulling out all the hot issues.

Guns! Bang bang!

So, guns. Some people love them. Some people think they are the scourge of the earth. Some people think that guns are sentient creatures that OHMIGOD KILL AT WILL!

Some people are... not so smart.

Maybe my Texan is showing, but I think the idea of strict gun control is ludicrous. And I'm kind of a hippy.

It probably has to do with the fact that I grew up around guns. My father is something of an aficionado, and I can't really remember not knowing what a gun was. Which means, I don't remember not knowing how to behave around guns, how to be smart around guns, how to treat guns as what they are--potentially dangerous weapons.

The thing is, rocks are potentially dangerous weapons, too.

The arguments that guns are BAD BAD VERY BAD:

1. Little kids can accidently kill themselves with guns!

It's always heartbreaking to hear about a child who accidently hurts or kills his or herself with a gun, but can't help but feel more angry than anything else. Because I must've been 3 or 4 when I first asked about Daddy's guns, and he sat me down and explained how dangerous they are, and how under no circumstances should I ever play with Daddy's guns. And when I was a little older, it was never play with Daddy's guns without Daddy's supervision and permission. Even now, at age 20, when I come to my parents house and I want to go shooting, I'm not going alone by God. There is no excuse for not educating your children about guns if you own even one. There is no excuse for leaving your guns within reach of children. They make gun cabinets and locks for a reason. It's a tragic accident, yes, but one that could have been avoided easily. That's not an argument for gun control, that's an argument for people being less stupid.

2. It's too easy for criminals to get guns!

It's true that the process for legally buying a gun is fairly straight forward: You go to a gun store/gun show, present proof of residency, and fill out a Little Yellow Form and answer "No" on all the questions ("Are you a convicted felon? Do you have a history of domestic abuse?" etc), and you may buy a gun.

"Too easy! Too easy to lie! Too easy!"

Yes, it's easy. But let's take a few seconds to think for a minute; Are the people who are looking to commit crimes with a gun they purchase going to purchase that gun legally? Where it will be registered? No. Maybe it should be harder to buy a gun--a waiting period perhaps. That doesn't sound terrible. But criminals will get a gun whenever they need it, wherever they can get it from. They won't have a waiting period if they want to get their hands on a gun. And criminals aren't going to gun shows, anyway.

Dr. Gary Kleck of the University of Florida researched that Americans use the threat or the mere presence of a weapon to stop 2.5 million felony assaults every year without firing a single shot.

FBI Crime Index Report states that the police have an arrest rate of 1.8 per 10,000 per year. That's two cops out of 10,000 getting arrested annually. The arrest rate of concealed carry permit holder is .09 per 10,000. A person with a concealed carry permit is twice as UNlikely to commit a crime as a police officer, and people seem pretty comfortable with police officers carrying a gun. They should be more comfortable with the idea of me carrying a gun. (I'm probably a better shot than a lot of cops, anyway...)

And setting strict gun control laws is about to get a helluva lot harder. Earlier this summer, in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court declared that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for private use. That's right. Individuals. Not states. Not militias. Individuals.

Should it be more difficult to buy a gun? Maybe. Should you be required to go through a gun-safety course before owning a gun? Maybe. Should all the guns be taken away from the citizens of the United States? Absolutely not.