Of you’ve read my blogs, you would have figured out by now that I am a fairly typical science minded individual. I work in developing cutting edge (sometimes called bleeding edge) technology. I lend an occasional hand where I can to Judy in her medical research work. So it’s a natural that I write mostly about science subjects. This blog is a departure from science and technology. It speaks to my perspective on an issue as American as apple pie - gun ownership.
I was raised by incredible parents who instilled into me, a great love for my country and an appreciation for the freedom that makes it so great. My dad served most of his life in the military, now retired, and my mom was a stay at home military wife, now retired with dad. They are conservative in ideology but very outgoing with a true pension for exploring the great outdoors. It’s no mystery where I got my love for the outdoors.
At an early age, my grandfather, dad, and older brother collectively taught me to shoot. My brother and I joined the Junior NRA and I eventually became a Sharpshooter. To this day, I remain a member of the NRA. My family mentors taught me responsibility and safety with a firearm; an education I now pass on to my own children and hope to teach my grandchildren. My children are good shots and fully comprehend the responsibility and safety matters of gun ownership.
Gun ownership has been an American tradition since the founding of our country. So important was it to our founding fathers that they saw purpose to crafting the 2nd Amendment ensuring it as a right of all law abiding citizens. Indeed, they understood that a free nation is free only as long as the common people are armed, ready, and willing to defend their freedom.
There are some who argue that the Constitution only provides for an armed militia and does not intend that the civil population should own guns. To take that position, one would have to completely rewrite American history and burn the writings of the founding fathers. From the revolutionary war, through the Civil War, the days of the Wild West, the World Wars, American have owned guns and nobody in government saw a problem with it. It was not only accepted as a practice of freedom, it was encouraged.
To truly understand what the framers of our Constitution intended, we need only to look at their personal writings. Thomas Jefferson, in writing to his nephew, Peter Carr on August 19, 1785, said "A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the Body, it gives boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind . . . Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks." Concerning the banning of guns, Jefferson made his position clear by quoting Cesare Beccaria in On Crimes and Punishment. He wrote “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” Thomas Jefferson echoed the sediments of government and the intent of the 2nd Amendment.
When I listen to some politician or gun ban zealot lament about how guns kill people, I am appalled that anyone of any intelligence could make such an illogical and absurd statement. Quoting my best friend, Tim, “If guns kill people then pencils cause spelling errors.” If we follow their logic, to correct spelling errors we must ban the use of writing instruments. It never dawns on these halfwits that the solution might be to buy and learn how to use a dictionary or spell checker! Likewise, getting rid of guns won’t stop crime. Buying a copy of the Constitution and learning to conduct your life in a way that honors its intent will.
To those who might challenge my right as an American to be armed, may I recommend that you move to a country where American tradition and freedom isn’t such an affront to your ideology? The Soviet Union might just be right up your alley. Better yet, Libya and North Korea might be an ideal place for you to embrace your values. You can be assured there are no gun owning scientists there! In short, the great thing about freedom is you’re free to leave. But be forewarned they don’t make Apple Pie there.