As much as I hate politics, my involvement in them in inevitable. I took a long and much needed break from the political world, but now that I'm getting near the voting age, I've been pressured by many people in my life to get involved again.
I don't expect to necessarily change minds or opinions. This is just how I see it. I will present a few facts here and there, which is what I base my opinions on. But, this is just how I see it, and I hope everyone can keep an open mind.
It's important that I get back in politics again for one huge reason. This last week, I got my first rifle. It's a Ruger bolt-action 243. It's not the most controversial firearm out there, though I do plan on getting a much more controversial rifle for my next firearm; either a .308 AR 10, or a .223 AR 15.
Why? Well, mostly because I want another hunting rifle. I know a lot of people say, "AR's aren't practical for hunting". However, with the right sights, an AR can be very practical. They're lighter than most wood and solid plastic stocked rifles. Some stocks on ARs can be folded forward, making it easier to pack away. In the last decade, ARs have gained a lot of popularity in the hunting world for their practicality, especially for hunters who travel for miles on foot or on horseback. It's not unusual to see them being used for hunting.
Before I go on, I want to clear some things up. I totally understand why people are so concerned about ARs in the hands of civilians. In fact, I understand why people are worried about guns in the hands of citizens in general. Guns are very dangerous in the wrong hands. However, because of the 2nd amendment, and the fact that there's an estimated 500-600+ million civilian owned guns in the United States alone, they aren't going away. I'm an advocate for background checks that are stricter than they already are, and I think every responsible gun owner must keep their guns locked up and kept in a different place than the rounds. Every responsible gun owner must also know how to properly handle, shoot, and take care of a firearm, so I'm also an advocate for training, although I have mixed feelings on making training mandatory.
However, judging by what I've learned and what I know from being raised around people with guns, banning this weapon or that magazine won't do anything, except give criminals the advantage. I also disagree with gun-free zones. Criminals don't listen to the laws, and I'd rather be armed rather than disarmed. You never know if or when something could happen. But when it does, I want to be prepared with more than a shelf shoved up against the door and a dispatcher on the line.
AR doesn't stand for "assault rifle". AR stands for "Armelite Rifle", which comes from the company name that first designed the rifle in the 1950s. An AR is nowhere near military grade. It's based on the look, but you'd be really stupid to bring an AR to a war zone. That's because ARs are semi-automatic, meaning one trigger pull equals one bullet, and the popular AR-15 uses glorified vermin rounds. Most civilian firearms, including most hunting-style rifles and all pistols, are semi-automatic. Of course, there are things called bump stocks that can turn a semi-auto to act more like a fully-auto. While I think they should be more restricted, I don't think bump stocks should be completely banned, but that's another topic for another time.
Both ARs and other hunting rifles are becoming lighter and lighter every season. Hunters want the lightest gear possible. 30 pounds begins feeling like 80 pounds really fast, especially on high-altitude hunts in the mountains. That's why it makes sense that my great-uncle-in-law (aka uncle Courtney), would suggest I get myself an AR for hunting. They are great for hunting, since they are lightweight and very accurate with the right sights.
Plus, it's always nice to have a semi-auto, especially if I miss my target and want to finish the job fast. I don't miss my targets often, but when I do, I don't want the animal to suffer. Pest hunters almost always use semi-automatic weapons. When you have five or ten animals within range that need to be taken care of, it's best to have enough rounds at once to take care of the job fast.
If I wanted to, I could make a semi-auto hunting-style rifle look like an AR. All I have to do is switch out the stock and the barrel. And I could make an AR look like a hunting rifle, by doing the same thing. Like I said, there's no difference between an AR and a hunting-style rifle other than the look. People sometimes do it, if it's legal in their state (I'm not sure it's legal to do that in Colorado).
ARs do look scary, but they aren't any more dangerous than any other firearm. In fact, ARs are statistically safer than any other gun out there. Knives and handguns are responsible for almost all murders, accidents, and suicides. According to the FBI, in 2016 (which is the most recent year I could find) 374 people were murdered by rifles (not just ARs, but all rifles), 1604 people were murdered by knives, and 7105 were murdered by handguns. If you add in suicides and accidental deaths, only 393 people were killed by rifles in 2016. That's 393 people out of 323 million USA citizens. The only reason why they seem so scary, is because the media jumps on the AR every chance it gets, even though the AR is the most popular firearm in the USA, and statistically the safest firearm in the States.
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/table-12
Misinformation spreads around like wildfire through all sorts of media, which is why I only want the facts. I want an unbiased timeline of an event, I want statistics, and I want to see what something actually looks like. Misinformation is very dangerous, as history has taught us. Just look at Communist Russia or Socialist Germany. I encourage everyone to look beyond major media (and commercials), and to ask for strictly the facts and statistics.
People use misinformation (and disinformation) to instill fear into others, so they could be blindly supported. It has happened over and over again, and continues to happen today. Fear is a very strong feeling that is often successful in roping someone into supporting (or not supporting) something. Sometimes, fear is justified, but it is usually not.
There's certain pro-gun arguments I tend to avoid and disagree with that use fear. We can't take on the government with what we have. I do think Thomas Jefferson was right when he said the 2nd amendment protects the liberty of the people. But while I do think the government can be kept in check if the 2nd amendment is exercised correctly, the government could also carpet-bomb the country if it really wanted to, and there wouldn't be much we could do about it.
At the same time, an armed civilian population is a safe civilian population. There's countless "good guy with a gun" stories. On average, 2.5 million civilians defend themselves using firearms every year according to the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol86/iss1/). Most, of the time, the gun was never even fired. Just the mere presence of a gun is enough to deter most criminals. I know a few people who defended themselves using a firearm. No one actually had to fire it, except for my grandpa's cousin who was being chased by an angry black bear.
Sometimes, guns are used as tools beyond shooting someone or some animal. Back in North Dakota, I rode out one hell of a storm that lasted for most of the night. It snapped telephone poles in two, brought down huge trees, rolled over a lot of campers and trailers, killed whole herds of livestock, and tore a few homes apart. In one of those homes, a father used a shotgun to blast a hole in the basement door to equalize the pressure and save his family. If he didn't have that shotgun, he and his family would've probably died. His home was destroyed, but his family survived with only minor injures, all thanks to a shotgun in the hands of a quick-thinking civilian.
I sleep better knowing I have a rifle nearby. I do keep the rounds in a separate case from where I keep the rifle. In fact, I have my rifle's chamber open and locked up, which is what I'll do with every firearm I own. But it's good to know that if someone breaks into my house, I have something to protect myself beyond a knife and my fists. I won't have to pray that the good guys with guns will rescue me in time. I can protect myself effectively until the cops arrive. There's a law in Colorado called the "make my day" law, which gives homeowners the right to shoot intruders who enter their home.
When I was seven years old, living in a nice neighborhood, some teenagers were breaking into cars in the night, stealing the garage door openers, and going into people's houses during the day. They targeted houses of those they assumed were not armed. At the time, Clarke (my brother's dad, and who I call my stepdad) put a couple of Smith and Wesson stickers on his truck and the garage door. He had a pistol safe nailed to the floor under the bed. While our car got robbed, our garage door opener was left alone, and our house was safe. The teens eventually broke into the house of a woman while her marine son was home. Needless to say, justice was served, and the teens were taken to a hospital in handcuffs. If my stepdad didn't openly advertise that he was armed, I'm pretty sure our house would've been robbed like so many on our block were.
I later moved to a neighborhood called Green Valley Ranch, which I jokingly call Ghetto Valley Ranch. It wasn't uncommon to hear gunshots in the day and night. Drug busts and SWAT raids were pretty common. My mom had our packages delivered to her office rather than our house, since our packages would be stolen almost immediately. And our neighbors down the street were targeted in a drive-by shooting. That was the only house my mom let my stepdad leave one of his rifles in. It was a little bolt-action 22, but it was something. As soon as we moved, my mom gave Clarke his rifle back, and our house has been active gun-free since.
I still have guns at my mom's house. One of them is a pellet gun, so it doesn't count. The other is a double barrel shotgun my great-great grandpa had. It's too old to be safely shot, so I just have it for decoration. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if anyone makes rounds for it anymore.
My mom won't let me bring my Ruger .243 home. It'll stay at my grandparents' until I live somewhere else. Wherever I move to, my guns will follow, just like my knives will. Similar to my guns, I keep my knives sheathed and/or folded, and hidden away.
My mom is ok with knives, but not with guns. She participated in a few self-defense classes with me, where we learned how to use knives the right way. She feels safe with knives because she's educated about knives. She hasn't received much education on guns, however, and has more left-wing views on guns. I respect her opinions and choice to keep our house free of active guns, as I do anyone's opinions and choice to not have guns. I don't question her or anyone else's decision.
What I don't agree with is pressuring other people to have or not have guns (or anything for that matter). Sure, machine guns are a little much for the average household, and I certainly don't want citizens to have access to RPGs and missiles. But because semi-auto, bolt-action, single-action, etc... guns are good and very popular tools for hunting, target practice, self defense, and more, I want citizens to have access to those firearms when they want access to them.
I'm all for 3-day yearly background checks that include a mental health exam. At the same time, no one should have the ability to revoke your right to bear arms, even temporarily, purely by allegation. There have been some cases where a person's guns were wrongly taken away because someone falsely accused them of being dangerous. Due process must be followed before anyone's guns are taken away.
At the same time, all allegations ought to be taken seriously. A case ought to be visited and processed quickly to avoid any trouble as much as possible. People who are on a watch list, have a dangerous criminal record, and/or have a strong history of severe mental illness, and/or are currently struggling with a severe mental illness, shouldn't have access to guns. But their 2nd amendment right shouldn't be terminated unless the court fairly deals with the case.
I don't want to pressure anyone into getting a gun either. Some people are just not comfortable with guns, and that is OK. What drives me nuts is when people call other people "anti-gun" simply because they don't want a gun. It happens too often over social media. If someone doesn't like guns or isn't comfortable discussing the subject, the subject should just be changed right then and there.
Some people have called me "anti-gun" simply because I'm for stricter background checks. I know how strict background checks already are, but people like the Florida school shooter still got a legal gun through some sort of loophole. Those loopholes need to be closed off, so no crazy criminal can legally get a firearm. This doesn't make me anti-gun. If anything, it makes me even more pro-gun.
I want more good guys with guns, and less bad guys with guns. I also want less restrictions on what guns civilians can own, once those background checks are put in place, and less bad guys are getting access to guns. Sure, bad guys may always find a way to get a gun or wreak havoc some other way, but stricter background checks should bring down violent gun crime quite a bit.
I'm always curious and open to other opinions. The gun debate is the only political debate I've been active in. I like debating the issue, but more importantly, I like to hear what others have to say. I always listen with an open mind. I'm a proud hunter and self-proclaimed gun nut, but I'm also very responsible and safe with my firearms, and I'm willing to listen to all sides with an open mind. What I've written is just a short introduction into a very, very large topic, but at least it shows where I stand.
