So I was curious about what you tell someone or maybe discussions you have had about why you bought a firearm? ...What do you guys say to someone who is afraid of firearms?
My reasons for having firearms include;
1. Firearms have played a role in our history, from winning our independence, to winning the West, to safeguarding our shores, to expanding our role in the world. To be ignorant about this very basic historical tool, to me, would be leaving even bigger gaps in my knowledge of American and World history than already exist.
2. Once you have decided to at least study and understand them, firearms are interesting in their own right. Owning even a small collection of guns allows you to see first hand the evolution of technology, from iron, steel and wood percussion cap rifles to steel .45 caliber revolvers to the aluminum, plastic, and steel AR15. If you do not own even a small collection, you can visit them in all of our major museums.
3. Guns, at least good ones, are just plain durable. I have an 1864 Springfield rifled musket that is just as effective today as it was the day it was first issued. If you take just a little care of them, guns have a useful life of hundreds of years.
4. I will not say that commonplace guns are a good investment, because mass production has made sure that they are plentiful and cheap. At least they keep some of their dollar value, and all of their intrinsic and historical value over time. Some day my grandsons will divide my collection of guns, and the guns will no doubt be passed along again.
5. Shooting guns of any type is a demanding and somewhat difficult discipline, and it is fun. Controlling the power of the weapon, and trying to do so in a manner that yields good scores in comparison to the scores of others is challenging. As the author Paul Barrett ( of "
Glock: The Rise of America's Gun" ) has noted in an interview with Terri Gross, "It's just darn fun to fire a gun."
6. There is no arguing the fact that gun ownership endows you with the ability to defend yourself. As long as you recognize and accept the responsibilities that come with gun ownership, it can enhance your peace of mind.
7. While I am not now a hunter, in the past I did some upland bird hunting. Guns play a central role in hunting and the history of hunting in this country. From subsistence hunting on the early frontier, to the slaughter of the buffalo, to the scientifically-based game population management of today, you cannot deny the place of hunting in our history.
8. As American citizens we have what seems to be, unique among countries, a Constitutional right, guaranteed in the Second Amendment, to keep and bear firearms. As with all of my other rights guaranteed by the Constitution, this is one that I value and defend.
That is probably a two-dollar answer to a fifty-dollar question, or a fifty-dollar answer to a two-dollar question, depending upon your point of view.
Chris