There was the oft-repeated foundational edict of every firearm instructor — to assume every gun is a loaded gun and treat it appropriately.
My father instilled a sense of responsibility that goes with gun ownership and the fact that mistakes made with guns are often with you for a lifetime.
Those early years were also filled with equally important instruction in respect — respect for others, friend or foe, respect for people’s right to express their own opinions, and a broad respect for the sanctity of human life. That education was delivered most often by example, so it was natural to follow the words of my father when I saw him living by those same principles in every aspect of his life.
He both taught and showed that a gun, an automobile, a motorized boat, a mishandled fire, and a sharp knife all had that inherent ability to take a life, or seriously injure someone if not handled in a safe manner and while displaying the ultimate respect for the lives of others.
In the 50-plus years since I received that first shotgun, I have never used one to settle an argument, retaliate for mistreatment, or even a score after some perceived slight. There are a half dozen more guns in my possession now, all for hunting or target shooting, and in the most extreme case any one of them could be used, as a last resort, to protect the lives of my family if a serious threat presented itself.
I’ve never taken a gun into a bar or restaurant, never carried one on an airplane, never pulled one out after someone cut me off in traffic, never reached for a gun when confronted with another angler’s lack of stream etiquette, and never considered using a gun despite some of the threatening comments that have come my way over the past half-century.
When I read the news, I am both baffled and troubled by what I see. Twelve people killed and 42 more wounded just last weekend in Chicago — all with guns, and all seemingly the result of petty disagreements or a perceived dose of disrespect. Those dozen lives are gone forever, and a few dozen more people are likely maimed for life. All over a lack of respect for life.
I disagree with the way some headlines characterize this matter: “Gun violence proliferates” or “Wave of gun violence” or “Spike in gun crimes.” These incidents are all the result of violent people or gun-toting criminals, not the existence of guns. My guns sat there on the wall rack all weekend and did not harm a soul, because I chose not to use them in such a manner.
Stop yourself before you go to the keyboard and hit the customary default buttons — too many guns, end gun ownership, we need more regulations, blame the NRA, not enough jobs, blah, blah, blah. Full disclosure — I am not a member of the NRA and I never have been — but it is just too easy, and grossly inaccurate, to blame any organization for the thoughtless behavior of some people in our society. If you pull the trigger, the result is on you. Period.
I see thousands of flags in our cemeteries this weekend, all marking the graves of people who have served our country. In their training, and for many, during their time in the military, they handled guns on a regular basis and were skilled in the use of firearms. But they did not use a gun to shoot someone in a bar parking lot, never decided to spray an apartment complex with multiple rounds because they were mad at someone who might be there at the time, and they never shot people during a memorial service for a victim of another senseless shooting, as we experienced recently here in Toledo.
After the most recent shootings in San Jose, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked this week if there is a “crime problem” in the United States. Her reflex response was to call it a “gun problem”. From one old former redhead to one young current redhead — wrong, wrong, wrong. Murder is a crime, and there were multiple murders in this case. It is just so effortless to blame the gun and ignore the fact that those folks would all be alive if that criminal had not been intent on killing his co-workers.
When we stop talking with each other and listening to each other, then the guns seem to come out. And when we don’t want to admit the real source of these senseless shootings and killings, the excuses fly like rounds at a Camp Perry competition. But in an overwhelming majority of the cases where gunfire takes lives, it’s not the guns — it’s the trigger-squeezer that is to blame.
There are certain members of our society who should never own a gun — convicted felons, those with serious psychiatric problems, and those who have threatened violence against others — but broad brush laws that sweep up the law-abiding along with the criminal element run contrary to every word of the constitution.
What we face is a much more difficult circumstance than just “too many guns” and the programmed response that more gun laws will fix it all. We are experiencing the result of a long-term erosion of our values, which is on display each time another neighborhood argument is settled with gunfire and each time a workplace dispute results in multiple ambulance runs.
We need more respect for our fellow human beings, much more than we need another batch of gun laws.
Contact Blade outdoors editor Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6068.