The Days After

It was Sunday when I signed up as a member of the NRA. Less than 24 hours later Seung-Hui Cho destroyed the lives of many as well as the feeling of safety for thousands of students and parents around the nation. The Second Amendment and gun control, which has been on the political back burner for the last several years has now been thrust front and center into the American conscious.

The only person who knew what was going on Monday was Seung-Hui Cho. I can not imagine a person's life to be so bad that in his rage that the decision to end the life of so many people was made.

Now here comes the ramifications.

Even yesterday, Tuesday the 17th the gun control advocates were out preaching the evils of lax gun laws in this country. Seung-Hui Cho used a Glock 19 handgun and a Walther .22-caliber handgun on that fateful day. These are both pistols not assault rifles. These were also legally paid for by the soon to be killer. He wasn't a criminal or a person who warranted suspicion from the gun shop owner. I can not think of any law, if enacted earlier would have stopped these transactions from occurring.

I will now take you back to Sunday the 15th. I went to the National NRA convention which was held here in St. Louis, that is when I became a one year member to the NRA. To be honest I will admit my knowledge of firearms is limited in both the technical and hands on aspects of the field. I grew up firing BB guns and then .22 caliber rifles in Boy Scouts. A few years ago I was able to go to a free trap shoot and try my skills at the range. To be more honest I was never a very good shot above the BB gun level. I will tell you that I was a little nervous about the show, mainly because of my lack of experience. I really didn't know what to do or where to begin. The first gun I picked up was probably the smallest gun there, a single shot .22 pistol. It is about the size of a CD and pretty lame compared to pretty much anything else at the show. From there I gradually moved my way up the line and towards the end I felt very comfortable with picking up and checking out even the largest of the display firearms.

Now why should you care about this story of mine? First do not be afraid of guns and do not let people lead you to believe you should. You can be intimidated by guns more for the fact that you probably have never been around someone who either used or collected firearms. Second the more than 60,000 people who came to the NRA convention are not the people you need to worry about. These folk love firearms as well as the fact we all have a constitutional right to own any number of firearms. As much as the press will defend the right to free speech, NRA members are equally devoted to defend the right to bear arms. If you haven't gone to a major gun show you should. Talk to the people there and ask them why the 2nd amendment is important. You may get several different answers, but you are hearing it from the source without someone else "interpreting" the issue. After talking check out a firearm. Don't worry the guns won't bite.

This will not be the last discussion on firearms on this blog. However it is a starting point. You need to learn more about firearms and just saying, "Guns are bad," does not count anymore. As I learn more I will let you know what I find out.