No gun control, be safe.

I grew up on the outskirts of farmland in Australia. One story I remember from my farmer friends some may find interesting.

Another day in country Australia

My friend had found an old 125 motorbike in one of their sheds that required repair and he and another friend decided to get it running again. Farm kids are smarter than city kids in many ways and this was a relatively easy fix for them.

One summer day, they were riding the bike together along the bigger roads in the middle of nowhere when they were waved over by a local policeman doing his rounds. They pulled to the dusty side as the policeman got out of his car and dawdled towards them.

Now, if you will picture this a moment. These two 13 year old boys were sitting there on a paddock basher bike having just been pulled over by the police. The rider had a 303 slung across his back, the pillion a 202 on his, plus a shotgun across the lap.

The policeman, looked over the situation and calmly asked, "Hey boys, is this bike registered?"

Being 13 of course meant that they had no licence to ride it but, it was also unregistered which they told. The policeman nodded and said, "Keep it off the main roads then." He returned to his car and drove away.

Firearm etiquette

Now, this was in 1991, pre- Port Arthur massacre and the strict laws that come along directly after. If it had been 5 years later, this story would not have been possible.

Some will say that two 13 year old's with 3 guns between them on the back of a bike should not be possible at all but, there it was. What did their parents think of the behavior? Well, they had bought them the guns.

The interesting thing is with this is that although uncontrolled, my friends had been taught to be very safe. At 13 they knew about shooting lines and had been taught correct trigger discipline from a young age. They were patient shooters and decent trackers and made a little cash working the local farms, removing pest animals.

The Quick and the well...

I myself am not a gun person but I am a gun advocate. However, I do not think that anyone and everyone should have access to firearms. It wouldn't make me feel safe if everyone had a pistol on their hip as frankly, I do not trust everyone and there are many people that do not live the 'don't be a dick' philosophy.

But, banning guns in most cases is going to lead to stockpiling and a whole lot of arguments. In my opinion, they need to forget the outlawing of firearms and start the education and the first step would be to change 'Gun control' to 'Gun safety.'

Control is an authoritative term that says 'we are going to take your guns' whereas gun safety is an educational stance that says, 'since you have guns, let's learn how to use them correctly'.

I don't think anyone in any 'normal' place is against gun safety as must don't want to be in a scene from the Quick and the Dead in their home or neighborhood unless it is the scene with Sharon stone and Russell Crowe when he is handcuffed.

Maybe some rules?

I do not know about the Amendments and the like in the US but I do know that there are responsible and irresponsible ways to approach gun ownership. There should be a wait time for guns, there should be a permit that must be renewed relatively often, there should be membership at a gun club and frequent testing for pistol ownership as no farmer needs a pistol to take care of the farm.

Every gun owner should have to go through safety courses before getting a permit for the first time and inheritance guns should have to be registered and to maintain ownership, get licensed. There should also be a gun safe or some technological solution to stop children accidentally firing a gun (this is 2017 after all, the tech exists).

This seems like a lot of rules but if those that want gun ownership to be available, there must be some kind of commitment to maintaining responsibility and keeping firearms out of the hands of people who are not going to use them responsibly.

This of course does not stop black markets and intentional gun deaths but may save many innocent lives and stop toddlers shooting their siblings or parents.

I don't want people carrying guns on the street as I cannot guarantee that they have had adequate training. I cannot guarantee that the police have had adequate training either. I have been to some countries where the police are carrying mp5s and the like and it makes me uncomfortable especially as it is often in the most corrupt and poorly run countries. I am assuming trigger discipline may not have been high on the training agenda.

What a tool

I do not know if all the things here are suitable or if more or less is needed. But, I was always raised to fear guns and taught that they are weapons that should not exist but I have come to learn that they are tools like any other and like any tool, it is impossible to control how one uses it.

I am guessing that when most carpenters pick up a hammer, they aren't thinking of bludgeoning someone to death with it even though the tool itself is quite capable, and most doctors aren't using their stethoscope tube to strangle their patients to either.

I think it comes down to the responsibility of the individual and I will always push for that. Rather than take away guns, educate well so people will make good decisions with their firearms and understand themselves well enough to recognize when it is time to remove the firing pin and lock it away in the safe.

I would be interested to read some views on this and I know for some, this is a touchy subject.

The pictures I stole from my brother @galenkp who is competition long-range shooter by hobby. With his permission of course. If you are interested in this kind of thing, please give him a follow as he gets into the specifics of it at times.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]