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I’m as interested in the Oscar Pistorius trial as the next person. Yes, this is not by any means the most important news story, but there’s something in watching a trial unfold that grabs attention.
I certainly don’t claim to take sides. Reeva’s death, like any untimely death, is a tragedy whether she was murdered intentionally or not. I’m no judge. At no point have I felt arrogant enough to proclaim Oscar’s innocence or his guilt.
One thing bothers me though, and that’s the fact that, even if Reeva’s death was an accident, Oscar is still guilty of being an irresponsible gun owner.
My father, an eternal pacifist, despises guns, so when he was convinced to get one for self defence reasons, everyone in my family learned about responsible gun ownership and saw it in practice.
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Yes, this is true, but as Eddie Izzard observed, the gun helps.
A classic pro-gun analogy often used to illustrate the point that guns don’t kill people tells a story of a man who leaves his shotgun on the front porch.
Several people come and go, including the mailman, a girl walking her dog, and the boy who lives across the street.
The man in this analogy finishes off complaining about his “lazy gun” that’s clearly no danger to anyone. Your move, anti-gun lobbyists!
Except this admittedly fictional man is the worst possible example of a gun owner. According to this story, he leaves his shotgun outside, unguarded, where anyone can get it, including a kid.
Really, you couldn’t think of a better example of a gun owner that clearly should never have been trusted with a gun if you tried.
My father taught me that guns are not mere inanimate objects that can be safely left around to prove a point. They are dangerous, terribly dangerous, and they need to be respected and feared.
That said, I don’t believe in banning guns. I do not believe it will prevent murders.
The problem with laws is criminals don’t obey them. It’s pretty much the definition of criminal.
Murder has also been around a lot longer than guns.
Even if you could get rid of all the guns in the country so that absolutely no one has access to one, and even if no one manages to smuggle any more in, murderers, even massacres, can still happen.
What’s more, and this is on a personal note, my responsible gun-owner brother wouldn’t be alive today if he didn’t own a gun. As you can read for yourself here, it literally saved his life.
This doesn’t mean I think everyone should choose to have a gun, or that guns are totally safe, undeserving of any restrictions. Gun control laws are important, and gun owners need to learn the importance of responsible gun ownership already.
Oscar claims that he was scared. He felt vulnerable. Assuming he’s telling the truth, fair enough.
So he shot at someone he couldn’t see and had not identified, instantly becoming, even if innocent, exactly an example of why anti-gun lobbyists don’t believe human beings should be trusted with tools as powerful as guns.
A year ago, when this was first news, I found myself in a conversation with a gun-owner who told me about how he started shooting guns with his father back when he was a kid. He also told me that, in Oscar’s situation, he would have done exactly the same thing.
He’s scared, he’s got a gun, he’s going to shoot. That was his attitude.
The fact that that man is trusted with a gun still bothers me today.
If you are a gun owner, this does not mean you can shoot at someone you can’t see, or have not identified, no matter how frightened you are.
Even if you can see the person, and you have identified them as a home intruder, if they are not actively threatening your life you have no business murdering them. Death is literally overkill when used to punish thieves.
If you can’t or won’t do that, you have no business being a gun owner.
Your gun is to protect yourself in a deadly situation. That’s it. That’s all.
If you do not know how to use your gun, or control it, you have no business being a gun owner.
Owning a gun means having the power to protect yourself and your loved ones. It also means having the power to cause the death of yourself and your loved ones.
Guns kill people, so treat them with respect.
Follow Laura on Twitter.
Follow Women24 on Twitter or like us on Facebook.
I certainly don’t claim to take sides. Reeva’s death, like any untimely death, is a tragedy whether she was murdered intentionally or not. I’m no judge. At no point have I felt arrogant enough to proclaim Oscar’s innocence or his guilt.
One thing bothers me though, and that’s the fact that, even if Reeva’s death was an accident, Oscar is still guilty of being an irresponsible gun owner.
My father, an eternal pacifist, despises guns, so when he was convinced to get one for self defence reasons, everyone in my family learned about responsible gun ownership and saw it in practice.
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Yes, this is true, but as Eddie Izzard observed, the gun helps.
A classic pro-gun analogy often used to illustrate the point that guns don’t kill people tells a story of a man who leaves his shotgun on the front porch.
Several people come and go, including the mailman, a girl walking her dog, and the boy who lives across the street.
The man in this analogy finishes off complaining about his “lazy gun” that’s clearly no danger to anyone. Your move, anti-gun lobbyists!
Except this admittedly fictional man is the worst possible example of a gun owner. According to this story, he leaves his shotgun outside, unguarded, where anyone can get it, including a kid.
Really, you couldn’t think of a better example of a gun owner that clearly should never have been trusted with a gun if you tried.
My father taught me that guns are not mere inanimate objects that can be safely left around to prove a point. They are dangerous, terribly dangerous, and they need to be respected and feared.
That said, I don’t believe in banning guns. I do not believe it will prevent murders.
The problem with laws is criminals don’t obey them. It’s pretty much the definition of criminal.
Murder has also been around a lot longer than guns.
Even if you could get rid of all the guns in the country so that absolutely no one has access to one, and even if no one manages to smuggle any more in, murderers, even massacres, can still happen.
What’s more, and this is on a personal note, my responsible gun-owner brother wouldn’t be alive today if he didn’t own a gun. As you can read for yourself here, it literally saved his life.
This doesn’t mean I think everyone should choose to have a gun, or that guns are totally safe, undeserving of any restrictions. Gun control laws are important, and gun owners need to learn the importance of responsible gun ownership already.
Oscar claims that he was scared. He felt vulnerable. Assuming he’s telling the truth, fair enough.
So he shot at someone he couldn’t see and had not identified, instantly becoming, even if innocent, exactly an example of why anti-gun lobbyists don’t believe human beings should be trusted with tools as powerful as guns.
A year ago, when this was first news, I found myself in a conversation with a gun-owner who told me about how he started shooting guns with his father back when he was a kid. He also told me that, in Oscar’s situation, he would have done exactly the same thing.
He’s scared, he’s got a gun, he’s going to shoot. That was his attitude.
The fact that that man is trusted with a gun still bothers me today.
If you are a gun owner, this does not mean you can shoot at someone you can’t see, or have not identified, no matter how frightened you are.
Even if you can see the person, and you have identified them as a home intruder, if they are not actively threatening your life you have no business murdering them. Death is literally overkill when used to punish thieves.
If you can’t or won’t do that, you have no business being a gun owner.
Your gun is to protect yourself in a deadly situation. That’s it. That’s all.
If you do not know how to use your gun, or control it, you have no business being a gun owner.
Owning a gun means having the power to protect yourself and your loved ones. It also means having the power to cause the death of yourself and your loved ones.
Guns kill people, so treat them with respect.
Follow Laura on Twitter.
Follow Women24 on Twitter or like us on Facebook.
