February 5, 2009 3:02 PM
How one woman got her gun
In light of the last entry - about gun owners stocking up on firearms and ammo in anticipation of an Obama/Holder crackdown on Second Amendment rights - I thought you might enjoy this article I wrote in response to the 2000 "Million" Mom March. Remember? This was published in the ultra-liberal Marin Independent Journal and later in shortened form in The American Spectator. Keep in mind this was in April 2000, as we were wrapping up the Clinton White House years. Now 9 years later we are facing the same threats to our freedom we faced then:
How Barbara Got Her Gun
Like so many other Million-something events, last May's Million Mom March served up more style than substance, more rhetoric than reality. For this mom, it was a reminder of my own progress in discarding the notion that guns are The Problem.
It began last year when my husband Tripp decided to join the NRA. What for? I demanded. We didn't own any guns. In fact, both of us had solid pacifist roots. For years I'd even avoided killing the occasional household spider.
But Tripp's logic was compelling, going something like this: Just as we had struggled as leftists for our first amendment rights, we needed to do all we could to secure the second. Thus the NRA became an unlikely hero in our house.
Besides, he added, having a gun for protection might not be a bad idea.
No way, said I. I'd already made my Big Concession ten years ago when I lifted my domestic toy gun ban. It was strictly strategic: my four weapons-deficient sons had become so gun-obsessed that they found every scraggly branch or sausage link capable of rapid fire. At toy stores, after loading up with things nonviolent, I'd have to drag them drooling from the artillery aisle. What if my repressive rule were to backfire, compelling them to become all I'd tried so desperately to keep them from becoming?
Like I said, strictly strategic.
When it came to having a real gun in our home, I stood my ground. And so for a while my hubby and sons proudly wore their NRA caps - causing liberal consternation wherever they went, I'm sure - and we may have been the only NRA members who didn't really even own a gun.
But then I started getting worried. The federal government's appetite for control over and intrusion into our lives seemed to be burgeoning faster than the speed of cyberspace. A lawsuit here, a land grab there, federal interference everywhere. Then there was the one-note response of the Clinton administration following each and every shooting tragedy - Let Us Take Care of The Problem . The last straw was when the state of California called for certain weapons to be registered, then followed up by confiscating the registered guns from their law-abiding owners - ensuring that now only criminals would have them. Then I knew it was time to allow - no, urge - my man to get his gun.
And so just in the past few months, for the first time I've seen a gun up close and personal, watched my men leave for target practice, experienced the security of knowing our home is protected when we go to sleep at night, and finally - in the culmination of a process that likely never would have begun had I not been more afraid of losing my constitutional rights than of exercising them - learned to ready, aim, and fire.
But perhaps I'm not all that unique.
In just the past eighteen months, NRA membership has increased by 30 % - soaring from 2.7 to 3.8 million - despite almost-unbelievably biased media coverage of the 129-year-old nonpartisan group.
Brian A Patrick, a University of Michigan Ph.D., has documented that bias. In a 1990-98 survey of the "elite" press (New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and Christian Science Monitor), Patrick found that 87% of editorials and op-eds on the NRA were negative - as compared to 52% for the NAACP, ACLU, AARP, and HCI (Handgun Control, Inc.). He further found that journalists systematically mocked and belittled the NRA by running satirical headlines, discounting NRA leadership, ignoring NRA events, and choosing contentious words ("lobby" vs. "advocacy group", "claims" vs. "says").
Patrick concluded, however, that rather than harming the NRA, this media bias is actually beneficial. It energizes the organization and mobilizes its membership. Perhaps the media would be surprised to learn that it's not just rubes in flyover country who are reacting to their clumsy attempts at thought control, but educated, sophisticated, and formerly self-identified liberals like me.
Some of us just can't give up the old wisdom: "Question Authority" no matter who's wearing the mantle this year. Some see a claim like this one by the Million Mom March - 12 children 19 and younger are killed by guns each day - and dig a little deeper to find that the rate is inflated by lumping together a wide age range. The National Center for Health Statistics show 10 times the number of deaths by firearms in the age bracket 15-19 than in the bracket 10-14, with the greatest rise among 15-19 year old black males - 126.6 deaths per 100,000, compared with 7.1 for black males aged 10-14.
We do well to be wary, to look beyond feelings and slogans. A government that already has 20,000 gun laws on the books, neglects their enforcement, then clamors for MORE! clearly has an agenda other than simply saving lives.
Could that be why whenever the post-tragedy grandstanding begins, gun sales soar?
All evidence indicates that the Clinton Administration has done more to arm the citizenry than any other in the history of the United States. Checking with my local gun dealers, I learned that not only are gun sales up, but that more women than ever are buying guns. For a woman threatened by violence, only a gun can so effectively level the playing field.
And for those who keep them to protect their homes and their families, guns have leveled plenty of playing fields. Professor Gary Kleck, a criminologist at Florida State University and author of Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, estimates that citizens use firearms more than 2 ½ million times a year for self defense - 3 to 5 times the number of times guns are used for criminal purposes.
Which leads one to wonder why we hear only of guns taking lives, when they have probably saved so many more. Obviously to get some real perspective, we need to look a little further than what is filtered to us in the nightly news.
Perhaps it would have been more accurate to call it the Misguided Mom March. Because although it goes without saying that all mothers grieve to see senseless acts of violence - particularly those involving children - some of us need to start doing a better job on our homework.
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Comments
I encourage you to visit the website for VCDL. They are a great Virginia grass root organization that is working to keep our rights in Virginia.
Posted by: Becky | February 5, 2009 7:01 PM
My husband wants to join the NRA and is contemplating the purchase of a shotgun for our home (we live in Texas). I am not trying to dissuade him. I have a healthy respect for personal weapons of any sort (from swords to guns), but am not sure I am too keen on the idea of having one in our home, especially with a toddler who seems to have an affinity for getting into stuff he shouldn't.
What would you suggest (besides target practice and a locking gun cabinet)?
Posted by: Courageous Grace | February 5, 2009 8:12 PM
My husband comes from a long line of waterfowl hunters. It is a deep-rooted family tradition. He has already taken the 8 yr. old and 6 yr. old to the hunt club, and I wouldn't try to stop it - the practice is so steeped in respect for the environment, learning about wildlife, etc. many benefits beyond the hunting part. The kids cherish these trips. We have many shotguns in the house as a result. I have no fear of a child-related accident with these guns. First, they are very large and heavy (I have trouble picking one up). Second, they are locked with a long, flexible cord-like lock that goes through the part where you put the shell (ammunition) - sorry if I am not using the correct terms, this is not my area, and third, my husband keeps the shells separate from the guns which are locked in a cabinet. You can also keep the gun disassembled. In short, a shotgun, unlike a handgun (not that I am pro-taking away anyone's right to responsibly own a handgun) is unlikely to pose a threat to a curious toddler. My husband also believes shotguns are superior to handguns in personal defense, since aim becomes much less important than with a single bullet. It is also quite intimidating to look at (the point I rely on, since I am not sure I would ever be that eager to actually shoot someone if I had to). That's been my experience - hope it's helpful.
Thank you Barbara for alerting us to potential problems in this area, it's the time of year that ammo goes on sale anyway, maybe we should stock up for the next few seasons...
Posted by: Danielle M. | February 5, 2009 9:44 PM
I have a house full of little ones and never thought I'd want a gun in the house. My father (a retired military man and marksman) has tried to talk me into getting one for years, but I've resisted. Lately though it seems a better idea. Especially when I think about the possibility of having to protect those little ones. Does anyone have recommendations for where I could go to research safety issues and what type of gun might be a good fit, if we do chose to get one.
Posted by: Shannon Miller | February 6, 2009 11:14 AM
I can honestly say I would not hesitate one moment to shoot someone if I felt threatened. When I was a kid a bunch of teenagers jumped on our car and tried to open the doors and they were stomping on the hood and top of the car. My dad, a normally patient man in most ways, freaked out and tried to run them over. We went straight to the police where they said that the teenagers did nothing to us. Well it scared the life out of my brother and myself and my mother was hysterical and crying. We thought these young men were going to kill us. I think that was a defining moment that it is ok to have guns and use them. One other thing, I would never tell someone if I owned a gun or not. Just like I don't' tell people if I can speak Spanish or not ;-)
Posted by: Mrs. Damian (Ouida) Garcia | May 14, 2009 12:31 PM
We have four children ages 10, 8, 3 and 1. I have always been against having guns in our home, however, my husband bought a Glock several years ago and I have grown to appreciate the safety it represents. Recently we have bought several more guns, including a P22 Walther for me. I also went out and acquired my gun carrying permit. We teach our children - ALL of them - respect for guns and gun safety. Obviously we keep them put up out of reach, but they do not possess the curiousity that many kids have for guns because we teach them about our guns from a young age. They respect the guns for protection but all of them know that they are not to touch the guns unless an adult is present. We do keep most of them locked up - but at least one of the personal protection guns sits, loaded in my husband chest of drawers. I know many people would disagree with this practice, however, in case of an emgergency, it simply is not possible to unlock a cabinet, load a gun and expect to keep a preditor out. In fact, I got a scare just the other day and was able to grab that gun, cock it and I was ready to rumble. Fortunately, I didn't have to, however, it was there for me to grab when I felt threatened. (A man appeared at my house after 9pm and was going through my husband's things outside in our yard. My husband neglicted to tell me he has his permission)
Anyway, teach your kids early and show them all the parts of the gun and teach them respect for it. Do not keep it within their reach, of course, but I think the curiously comes when we HIDE them and not from the gun itself. Don't you always want what you can't have?
Posted by: Christi | May 14, 2009 1:25 PM
I had a real problem when I was training in martial arts (Taekwon-Do originated due to Marshall Law dictating that no citizen may poses weaponry). We were required to defend/disarm our opponents of knives or guns. Putting my opponent’s knife in my hand did not put me at a disadvantage, putting my opponents gun in my hand did. I didn’t know how to use it. I had never fired a handgun or rifle. I was the only student who had never fired a weapon (I did enjoy target shooting with my bow, but I never have needed to disarm an opponent who had a bow). My instructor required that I shoot something before becoming an instructor. So I took a Trap and skeet class.
Posted by: Resident Old Married Man | December 16, 2009 2:49 PM
