Guns in the USA

I’m sorry that this post is rather long, but it is a complicated subject.

First, I need to say that we have a gun in our house. When my husband was a teenager, his father gave him a .22 rifle. They would go out hunting a couple of times a year, shared moments of quiet in the woods between a father and son, with sometimes a squirrel brought home to be stewed or fried. The father is gone, the rifle oiled and wrapped carefully and stored, probably not to be used again. But it is kept and I would not ask that we get rid of it.
Also, my son-in-law has a gun at his house. It is kept clean and oiled, locked in a gun cabinet, but ready to use if coyotes or other animals threaten his calves. He fires to scare the animals, and would kill them only if they were actually dangerous (rabies, etc).
So I cannot say that all guns should be banned, I just cannot be that hypocritical. But I do have major misgivings with the attitude of many people here toward guns.

Some background: Hunting and rifles run through US history- the settlers that came to this natural land felt the need for protection and wanted to feed their families. A man carving out a niche for himself and his family would keep a rifle (musket) handy, to be used if necessary to defend from dangerous animals or people, but mostly to add meat to their diets. Many had come from countries where they could do neither- as tenant farmers, they could not defend themselves nor hunt game. This desire to be independent was a strong force, we call it the ‘pioneering spirit’, and the rifle was just a tool to help them.
While few families now hunt to feed themselves, many retain the hunting tradition, using it as a bond between fathers and sons, and sometimes with daughters, too. These are the majority of gun owners in the USA, and although I don’t like hunting, I don’t have a problem with people who choose to hunt, if they follow rules and safety procedures.

Now we come to what I perceive as the major problems (**with some personal notes):
A. Laws concerning firearms vary widely from state to state, with too many states having very lax laws or poor enforcement of existing laws.
**There needs to be a strong, consistent, national law requiring background checks, waiting periods, and registration of all firearms.
B. People who feel vulnerable will sometimes legally buy and keep a handgun in their homes for protection. Often these guns accidentally or through carelessness kill the owners, or their children.
**The laws should be stricter and harder to circumvent. There should be required classes.
C. Under the guise of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution, some people claim that they are guaranteed the right to own any kind of gun that they wish. People who need to feel empowered will buy large handguns and high-powered rifles/assault weapons, to make themselves feel ‘macho’. Most of these people will never shoot anyone, they just want to swagger. But this puts these guns on the open market, where anyone can get them, one way or another. A criminal will not heed gun registration laws or regulations.
** These yahoos need to grow up, get over it, and find another hobby. We don’t need any of these guns in private hands.
D. A person who qualifies can get a gun legally and later turn violent.
**When someone turns violent, they will use what is at hand, be it gun, knife, baseball bat, or automobile. Outlawing handguns and automatic weapons will help by limiting their choice of weapons, but it is treating the symptoms, not the cause. There are deeper issues here.

The debate in the USA is intense and has been going on as long as I can remember. The National Rifle Association and other groups have the strongest lobby, and legislation is fought every step of the way. The laws that are passed are challenged in the courts and loopholes abound. If the local authorities turn a blind eye, the laws may as well not exist. It would seem that an incident like the killings at Virginia Tech would make people change their minds about gun control, but that is apparently not the case. Americans can be a stubborn lot, and I’m afraid we’ll continue to shoot ourselves in the foot rather than face the facts.

**discussion and questions are welcome, but please don’t yell at me.