Guns and Gun Control

A big rewrite here.

I have been laughing at the petition to deport Piers Morgan back to England because of his position on gun control.  I find it ridiculous to think that people who want to bear arms and to own guns can be so defensive when by rights they should be demanding better means of gun control.

I do not own a gun. I would not want to own a gun unless I knew how to handle it properly.  I have once used a rifle just to learn how to handle it.  But unlike Annie Oakley, I did not acquire a liking for them. I have never felt the need to own a gun.  Sometimes I have wished I had one, but that was only when I was angry and wanted to use it against someone.  However, I have always believed that if I owned one, it might be too easy to overpower me and wrestle it away from me. I think of all the reasons why having a gun is a stupid move for me to make.

There are incidents of gun use in my family.  One involved a tragic accident when an uncle accidentally shot a neighbor when both were playing with a loaded gun, and it went off unexpectedly. It frightened my uncle so badly that he ran for miles out of town until he came to my cousin's home where he explained what happened. I guess he thought he must have killed the kid and was scared to death.  We never forgot that episode in his life.

My mother owned a gun and used it once when I was a kid in elementary school.  A prowler had come to the back door which frightened her enough to go outside to fire a shot as a warning to anyone to stay away from the house.  At that time, she lived alone only with my brother and me.  So she felt it necessary to protect herself is what I conclude now.

Years later, she used it to defend me against abuse and wrongdoing. I appreciated her for that.

But many years later, my dad used both his rifle and a pistol that he kept in the house. That changed my life forever.   He attempted to shoot himself in the head but his hand apparently jerked away so that he only grazed his head but also lost a good eye.  What a stupid thing to do.  But it has affected me and my nerves so that I am a wreck even now.  I am always blaming my nervous nell attitude on creeping old age but the real cause is that time when my dad tried to take his own life.

I know that all the parents in Sandy Hook and all those affected by the deaths of their loved ones will need longterm care and understanding. It does not go away.  People do not get on with it.  Anything that changes one's life so abruptly, and in my case, with such strange aftermath and results, has a longterm damaging effect.

I clearly have not recovered from my dad's wrongful use of a firearm, and while I do not blame the weapon, I know that it is intended for only one purpose.  People who buy guns intend to kill at some point or other, believe it or not.  So on that note, we as a society should be careful about who is able to purchase a gun for any reason at all.

I don't think that Piers Morgan should be deported for speaking out on behalf of those who know that guns are lethal weapons, and should only be used by persons who are competent, sane, and responsible.  Period!