Suddenly, it seems, I am surrounded by gun owners. Gun owners who believe their right to carry a gun to feel safe trumps my right to not be around guns. And I guess it does as their right is constitutionally protected and my right is not.
Suddenly I have to be aware of who owns guns and can I invite people to places or friends homes without asking permission because I go a LOT of places with small children.
Also, I have to decide in my heart if I can bear going to coffee, dinner, lunch, church, a movie with someone who carries a concealed weapon...and what that means to long held friendships if I can't.
My daughter says I am paranoid. One can't be a committed pacifist, I guess, only paranoid people are anti-gun. But I call bull shite on that.
Even though getting a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Washington state is as easy as buying a new set of tires. There's a bit of paperwork, and you may have to sit for a spell while they make sure your record is clean. But you can be out and packing in less than an hour. WITHOUT ANY GUN SAFETY TRAINING REUIRED. But I am paranoid...yeah right.
Any freak with a clean record can get a permit to carry a gun without one whit of safety training. Any person...for any reason. And if you believe every gun owner out there owns a gun just for their protection then you are NOT watching/reading the news.
"BUT I've been around guns my whole life," some say. Yeah & I have been around construction equipment my whole life. That doesn't make me qualified to operate it!
If a person who owns a gun does not take gun safety classes that is negligence in my eyes. And if one of the people near me decides to concealed carry without gun safety classes, I will not feel safe in the presence of their gun. And therefore, we will not be hanging out together. And people, I looked the paperwork and the classes up tonight. Gun safety/gun handling classes are not cheap. But to own and carry a gun without them, as I said, is negligence in my eyes. And I will be forced to protect myself.
4 comments:
This is the first time I am hearing that no training is required. I'm less likely to call you paranoid in this instance. I am pro-gun; but I am even more pro-training! Sorry mom.
b
Guns aren't cheap either and it also costs to get a concealed carry permit. It costs several hundred dollars for a gun. And it takes a couple of weeks to process a concealed carry permit, so no, not any "freak" with a clean record can be out and packing within an hour.
It actually costs quite a bit just to purchase the permit as well. Washington is an open carry state, so anyone can purchase a gun without the concealed permit, you just have to be someone without a record who can afford to spend upwards of 500 dollars or more on just the gun, and then be able to afford ammo as well. Which would make you feel more secure, seeing and knowing who to avoid because they own a gun, or knowing the person doesn't want to offend and would rather conceal and carry the weapon in case of an emergency situation? I get that everyone has strong feelings when it comes to gun ownership, but it really would be nice to stop feeling about everything and think things through with some logic and reasoning behind it.
So you are telling me I only need to worry about the well off because poor people cannot afford a gun and ammo? That doesn't make me feel one iota better.
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