[Malum Prohibitum]

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /705150314

Arm yourselves legally in this 'us against them' world

It's a shame that we have to live in a world where there is a chance that someone will enter a room, be it in a mall or school campus, and start shooting. Being the mom of a soon-to-be college student, it frightens me to think that I may be sending my son off to college where some disturbed individual will take out all of life's problems on him and others by going on a shooting rampage.

Let's make a couple of comparisons between the recent shooting at Virginia Tech and the shooting that took place in Salt Lake City's Trolley Square in February. At Virginia Tech there were 33 people killed, including the shooter by a self-inflicted wound. At Trolley Square there were six people left dead, including the shooter, who was taken down by an off-duty Ogden police officer.

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At Virginia Tech there was no one with a gun to take down the shooter. Everyone on that campus was a potential victim. At Trolley Square there was one man who had the authority to take down the shooter. There is no telling how many lives were saved that night. And we'll never know how many lives would have been saved if just one person - who was legally armed - would have been present at Virginia Tech last month.

I've never been a fan of guns. They scare me because I've never been around them. But I appreciate my Constitutional right to legally own a gun if I so choose. The hundreds and hundreds of gun laws on the books across this nation are ridiculous because people who use guns illegally don't pay much attention to laws.
When was the last time you researched Utah's gun laws? They probably don't provide for very interesting reading. In many ways these laws protect the guilty and hamper the innocent. The bad guys are out there buying their guns on the street while the honest citizen is sitting in a holding pattern waiting for approval to purchase a gun.

Every person who is legally able to obtain a gun permit or concealed weapon permit should do so. This includes teachers and administrators in our public and private schools. Store owners and restaurant managers should be prepared to protect themselves and others. A person who is contemplating the idea of going on a shooting spree will think twice about their actions if they think that someone might stop them before they can accomplish their goal.

I did not have this opinion a few years ago. Now we live in an "us against them" world - even in our cities. Why should we fear terrorists from other countries when our own fellow citizens think nothing about gunning us down in the street? I never thought that I could shoot someone until I became a mom. Now, if someone appears to be an imminent threat to one of my kids, I can instantly don that Momma Bear instinct and take them down without having to think twice about it. That's what parenthood does. It changes our priorities.

I wish we, as good upstanding citizens, didn't have to consider gun education and legal ownership (notice the word legal) for self-protection. I'm sure that anyone who has had to take the life of another in self-defense wishes he or she was never forced to make that decision. I hope and pray that you and I will never be put in that position. However, if we ever find ourselves in such a dangerous situation, I hope there's someone there who has the skill and the will to avert a catastrophe.

Rhonda Tommer is a resident of Santa Clara. She is a member of The Spectrum & Daily News Writers Group.

 

[slabertooch]

Good article, been thinking about sending this to the local newspaper.


I grew up in rural Michigan, my brother and myself were the only kids our age within 10 miles. We lived in the middle of farm country,and much of our time was spent running wild. My father worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons as a Corrections Officer at the penitentiary in Milan, Michigan. My father had one weapon in the house, and its purpose was for one thing, protection.

This was back in the 80's when the mafia was going down in flames, and organized drug cartels were making a spot for themselves in the criminal picture. From some of the stories that my father had told me, it was apparent to me, a seven year old, that it was possible that someone could come to the house and try to coerce my father into helping them free someone from the prison.

One day my father got me up in the morning and took me out to the field with his pistol and a milk jug filled with water. That was the day that I learned that a firearm was not a toy. The sight of an exploding milk jug is still firmly implanted in my mind. My father kept his pistol in a location that was readily accessible to him and my mother, but out of reach of my brother and me. He didn’t need to go to such lengths, after seeing that, I never once even thought of getting it and playing with it.

Until recently, our family has had only one firearm in the house, and its purpose was for one thing, protection.

So I grew up, moved out and joined the Marine Corp, and started my life. To say that firearms were a part of that life would be an understatement. Not only did I train bi-annually with the issue rifle and a pistol, I was also a rifle, and pistol marksmanship coach. It was my job to instruct Marines that already had the initial training from boot camp, and make them better shooters. I also was part of an armed security team that guarded sensitive equipment and documents, as well as the well being of Marines that worked with me. I carried a loaded service pistol with me, and was authorized to use Deadly Force, within a certain set of parameters. In addition to the required instructional time, I was required to qualify with the service pistol once a year, to maintain my ability to carry.

Time moves on and I left active duty. I was single, lived by myself, and saw no need for me to even own a firearm other that the .22 rifle that I had left at my parents house. I considered it, but really didn’t want to own one, because I knew the responsibility that came with it, and didn’t feel that I wanted that responsibility. I had no desire to own a firearm, and did not see the need for others to carry one either.

In September of 2005, that all changed when my wife and I had our beautiful son. As I sat in the recovery room with my son in my arms, I realized that this beautiful, smiling, innocent, and defenseless person was counting on me to protect him, as well as raise him. Before his arrival on this earth I was content to surrender my ability to protect myself to others, the police. While the police are my hero’s; they do a thankless, underappreciated, under funded, and overworked job; they cannot be there 24/7. The police are a reactionary force, and I am on the frontlines, so to say. I decided that I would not pawn the responsibility to protect my family off to someone else; it is mine and mine alone. When I married my wife I made a vow to “Love, Honor, and Protect†her, and I extended that vow to my son the day we found out that we were pregnant.

Like my father before me, and his father before him, I keep a pistol in the house, and carry it with me everywhere. It is readily available to my wife and me, but out of reach of my son, who is now almost 2 years old, and when he is old enough, he will get the same experience that I had. What he does with the information that I will provide him with is his responsibility, but I will educate him.

Life has a way of changing the way you look at things. Do I wish for a time that wouldn’t require me to carry a pistol, yes. Every time I strap on my firearm to go out I realize that there is a huge responsibility placed on me. Do I feel safer when I carry, no, just as having car insurance doesn’t make me feel any safer when I drive my car. But I have the confidence that if something were to happen, I do have something to protect my family and myself.

The ownership and carrying of a firearm/s is not something to be taken lightly, but neither is the protection of my family.

 

[Macktee]

Wow Slaber...

Extremely well thought out and presented. Thank you.

 

[S&W 40]

Slaber,

=D> =D> :righton:

 

[GeorgiaGlocker]

Excellently presented. =D>

 

[Rammstein]

damn....you really need to submit that.

 

[Dan H]

:righton:

 

[Sharky]

good to go

 

[Axeman]

=D>

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

You made a vow to obey your wife?

 

[slabertooch]

I knew that would come up,

answer yep,

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

:rotfl:

 

[glockgirl]

wow slab you can tell a great dad wrote that. good job!

 

[slabertooch]

Thank you. I plan on calling the editor of the Albany Herald to see if they will take it. Tried to get in touch with him today but he was out, gonna try on monday.

 

[S&W 40]

Slaber,

Most papers will not publish letters to the ed more than 300-500 words. Would be very good to contact and see if they will run as a opion letter.

 

[slabertooch]

good to know, this one is 885 words. I'll see what the guy has to say.

I knew there would be a limit, just wasn't sure what it was.

 

[S&W 40]

All papers are different, talking with them is a good step. This is to good not get in unless they are very Anti

 

[slabertooch]

I haven't seen anything from them regarding firearms, they actually report the news and don't sensationalize as much as some other papers do.