Oh, fuck everything.
TRIGGER WARNING: Discussion of suicide; factual-but-possibly-disturbing description of aftermath of same. Proceed with caution.
NB: The following are my own opinions/experiences, because they are all I can speak of. Any use of the word "you" is to be interpreted as an incredibly generic and generalized "you", rather than you-personally. Oh, and this is going to ramble a bit, just as a heads-up.
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I've said this before, and I'm going to say it again, (and likely will again, and again, and a-fucking-gain): Hi. I'm A) someone with a mental illness, B) dyslexic, and C)a gun owner.
In fact, I own a lovely little Beretta 9mm. It was a gift from my father in honor of my 21st birthday. I would like to own a .38, someday. Revolver or semiautomatic doesn't matter to me; to be honest, I've only ever used a .38 revolver, so I'd probably prefer it over the semi.
Do you want to know a couple of secrets? Too bad, I'm telling you anyway. Here they are:
1) I have actually thought about using my gun for harm, rather than just for putting slightly-larger-than-a-pencil-eraser-sized holes in paper.
2) When I am pissed off enough that I want to actually inflict injury upon another human being, my first thoughts are always, always of my bare hands, sticks, books, rocks. I don't think I have ever thought of a gun, let alone my own gun...
3) The above statements are not at all contradictory, despite appearances. There was only one person I ever wanted to harm with my own gun, and that thought was quickly discarded -- For one thing, I didn't want my mother to have to clean skull fragments and brain matter off of my bedroom walls; for another, I didn't want to break my father's heart by using the gift he gave me to end my own life.
So how on God's green earth have I managed to own a gun for over 10 years, to live in houses with guns and gun owners for my entire LIFE, without ever once turning into a rampaging killer? A huge part of it stems from the fact that I'd had the rules of gun safety drilled into me since I was considered old enough to be allowed near guns. Another part of it is, I'm sure, my own propensity to follow rules and regulations.
I think that the whole mental-health issue really needs to be addressed before we start arguing over guns, myself. It's a bit like arguing that well, this arrow wound with the arrow still in it is infected, so let's give you antibiotics! Yeah, they'll help, but unless the arrow is removed, the wound cleaned/stitched up, nothing's really going to change. The injury will still hurt and will be prone to infection, but who cares! More drugs!
I say these things as, as I have mentioned, someone who takes psychoactive medication on a daily basis and someone who would really rather keep her gun(s), thanks. I don't think that anyone really needs to own assault rifles, not even my own dad (who is a very safe and responsible gun owner; he was the one that taught me and my brother The Rules). I love him dearly, and I know that his interest in assault rifles is more from a general-purpose/historical point of view, but still.
I don't have any good answers as to what kind of regulation would be acceptable. It needs to be flexible, needs to involve compromise on BOTH sides, and it needs to be effective and enforceable. Especially the last two. It doesn't matter how many laws you make about something, if you can't enforce the law for whatever reason then it's probably a bad law. (Sodomy laws are a perfect example of this.)
I'm as appalled and as sickened and as unhappy about the Sandy Hook children as anyone else, but I don't have any answers. All I have is this and a heavy heart.
NB: The following are my own opinions/experiences, because they are all I can speak of. Any use of the word "you" is to be interpreted as an incredibly generic and generalized "you", rather than you-personally. Oh, and this is going to ramble a bit, just as a heads-up.
- - - - - - - - - - -
I've said this before, and I'm going to say it again, (and likely will again, and again, and a-fucking-gain): Hi. I'm A) someone with a mental illness, B) dyslexic, and C)a gun owner.
In fact, I own a lovely little Beretta 9mm. It was a gift from my father in honor of my 21st birthday. I would like to own a .38, someday. Revolver or semiautomatic doesn't matter to me; to be honest, I've only ever used a .38 revolver, so I'd probably prefer it over the semi.
Do you want to know a couple of secrets? Too bad, I'm telling you anyway. Here they are:
1) I have actually thought about using my gun for harm, rather than just for putting slightly-larger-than-a-pencil-eraser-sized holes in paper.
2) When I am pissed off enough that I want to actually inflict injury upon another human being, my first thoughts are always, always of my bare hands, sticks, books, rocks. I don't think I have ever thought of a gun, let alone my own gun...
3) The above statements are not at all contradictory, despite appearances. There was only one person I ever wanted to harm with my own gun, and that thought was quickly discarded -- For one thing, I didn't want my mother to have to clean skull fragments and brain matter off of my bedroom walls; for another, I didn't want to break my father's heart by using the gift he gave me to end my own life.
So how on God's green earth have I managed to own a gun for over 10 years, to live in houses with guns and gun owners for my entire LIFE, without ever once turning into a rampaging killer? A huge part of it stems from the fact that I'd had the rules of gun safety drilled into me since I was considered old enough to be allowed near guns. Another part of it is, I'm sure, my own propensity to follow rules and regulations.
I think that the whole mental-health issue really needs to be addressed before we start arguing over guns, myself. It's a bit like arguing that well, this arrow wound with the arrow still in it is infected, so let's give you antibiotics! Yeah, they'll help, but unless the arrow is removed, the wound cleaned/stitched up, nothing's really going to change. The injury will still hurt and will be prone to infection, but who cares! More drugs!
I say these things as, as I have mentioned, someone who takes psychoactive medication on a daily basis and someone who would really rather keep her gun(s), thanks. I don't think that anyone really needs to own assault rifles, not even my own dad (who is a very safe and responsible gun owner; he was the one that taught me and my brother The Rules). I love him dearly, and I know that his interest in assault rifles is more from a general-purpose/historical point of view, but still.
I don't have any good answers as to what kind of regulation would be acceptable. It needs to be flexible, needs to involve compromise on BOTH sides, and it needs to be effective and enforceable. Especially the last two. It doesn't matter how many laws you make about something, if you can't enforce the law for whatever reason then it's probably a bad law. (Sodomy laws are a perfect example of this.)
I'm as appalled and as sickened and as unhappy about the Sandy Hook children as anyone else, but I don't have any answers. All I have is this and a heavy heart.