(no subject)
I've been pondering on this for several days now, and I never could find the right way to begin it, nor the right way to word it. My dear friend [lj user = ms_violet] posted about a man who, moved by recent events, has decided to destroy his handgun. I mentioned to Lindsay that I was considering doing something very similar. She asked me what I planned to do, and my answer to her ended up being the very thing I've felt the need to post. I post it here without any alteration:
I had a .44 Special revolver that I intended to carry, but after fifteen years of never having gotten my carry permit (and a drunken conversation with He Who Was Once Named moriarty6 On LiveJournal, in which we discussed my desire to be a man of Peace), I sold it.
My two shotguns I lost when my dad disowned me/my brother and I became estranged (for me not being a racist like them), since the guns in question were in their possession and I do not care to get them back.
That leaves me with a .22 LR revolver that was bought eleven years ago with the intention of giving it to my son when he turns 21. It's a pea shooter as guns go, but... it still kinda bothers me. Don't get me wrong, I am a responsible gun owner, I do not fear guns, and I trust myself with them; I know from my life's experience that I am capable of handling them safely, shooting them accurately, and not using them in anger.
But it still kinda bothers me.
I used the gun recently to put down a rabid raccoon in a neighbor's back yard, and life has taught me that the ability to end the suffering of sick and injured animals is a good thing to have, and I've thought of a way to keep that without having a modern firearm in the house: I intend to speak with my son to find out how much (if any) he gives a shit about the .22 LR revolver. If he wants to keep it then I'll hold onto it but get rid of the ammo. If he doesn't want it, then I'll likely destroy it at work with the 150 ton hydraulic press we have there.
After that I intend to get a sidehammer muzzle-loading pistol, a few projectiles (either simple lead balls or perhaps modern sabot rounds, I haven't decided), a packet of of percussion caps, and a small amount of powder. This will allow me one shot to put down an animal when I need to, but that shot would by necessity have to be taken with even greater care and deliberation than when I dispatched that poor, sick raccoon, because of how each shot must be loaded rather than using a modern enclosed cartridge. (Plus I could load it without a projectile and fire it on July 4th and New Year's Eve, which is great fun).
I've always been a staunch Second Amendment guy, and I still understand that it remains the law of the land. Further, I do not begrudge anyone who does not feel similarly moved; Lord knows it took a long time for me to reach this conclusion. But despite my stature and my hot-blooded Scottish temperament, it is one of my greatest desires to be a man of Peace, and it has become apparent to me that the benefits to our society of (hand?)gun ownership, if any, are far outweighed by the terrible, terrible cost.
Thank you. I've wanted to write this for days now but just couldn't find the right way to start.
I had a .44 Special revolver that I intended to carry, but after fifteen years of never having gotten my carry permit (and a drunken conversation with He Who Was Once Named moriarty6 On LiveJournal, in which we discussed my desire to be a man of Peace), I sold it.
My two shotguns I lost when my dad disowned me/my brother and I became estranged (for me not being a racist like them), since the guns in question were in their possession and I do not care to get them back.
That leaves me with a .22 LR revolver that was bought eleven years ago with the intention of giving it to my son when he turns 21. It's a pea shooter as guns go, but... it still kinda bothers me. Don't get me wrong, I am a responsible gun owner, I do not fear guns, and I trust myself with them; I know from my life's experience that I am capable of handling them safely, shooting them accurately, and not using them in anger.
But it still kinda bothers me.
I used the gun recently to put down a rabid raccoon in a neighbor's back yard, and life has taught me that the ability to end the suffering of sick and injured animals is a good thing to have, and I've thought of a way to keep that without having a modern firearm in the house: I intend to speak with my son to find out how much (if any) he gives a shit about the .22 LR revolver. If he wants to keep it then I'll hold onto it but get rid of the ammo. If he doesn't want it, then I'll likely destroy it at work with the 150 ton hydraulic press we have there.
After that I intend to get a sidehammer muzzle-loading pistol, a few projectiles (either simple lead balls or perhaps modern sabot rounds, I haven't decided), a packet of of percussion caps, and a small amount of powder. This will allow me one shot to put down an animal when I need to, but that shot would by necessity have to be taken with even greater care and deliberation than when I dispatched that poor, sick raccoon, because of how each shot must be loaded rather than using a modern enclosed cartridge. (Plus I could load it without a projectile and fire it on July 4th and New Year's Eve, which is great fun).
I've always been a staunch Second Amendment guy, and I still understand that it remains the law of the land. Further, I do not begrudge anyone who does not feel similarly moved; Lord knows it took a long time for me to reach this conclusion. But despite my stature and my hot-blooded Scottish temperament, it is one of my greatest desires to be a man of Peace, and it has become apparent to me that the benefits to our society of (hand?)gun ownership, if any, are far outweighed by the terrible, terrible cost.
Thank you. I've wanted to write this for days now but just couldn't find the right way to start.