By Michael Porter
Anyone who has tried to have a debate with an anti-gunner has surely encounter the quip “Guns are only meant for killing”. Many of you I’m sure try to say they aren’t. “They’re for shooting a projectile,” or “They’re for hunting/busting clays”, etc. Insert whatever excuse you’d like. There is a truth we cannot avoid — guns are for killing. When an anti-gunner tries to end the argument with that phrase I reply, “I buy all my guns for their potential lethality or ability to make me better at potentially killing.” It’s exactly why criminals use them and law enforcement officers carry them. Death is completely effective at stopping an assailant from inflicting the same on you. Death has a stopping guarantee that injury can’t boast of . . .
If a criminal comes into my house in the dead of night, I refuse to be unarmed or wield a bat. If I’m prepping for disaster, I refuse to let my stuff be taken without lead flying. If someone tries to take me away because I’m of the wrong color skin or worship the wrong deity, I will not be unarmed. If the government becomes unwieldy and tramples my rights, I refuse to only have a poster and my voice in protest. It’s a fundamental question that I asked myself when I came of age to purchase my first pistol and get my concealed carry license — what am I willing to kill for, if at all?
Gun owners need to examine this issue, whether it’s in regards to self-defense or a more general notion. If your answer is “not at all,” then by all means don’t carry. If you’re going to own guns at all, lock them up when not in use and shoot targets for the enjoyment of mastering a skill.
Let’s not continue, though, pretending that guns aren’t lethal weapons because that’s the emotional tool that our opponents use. We have no end of reviews on ammo and how much different brands penetrate, we talk about accuracy, we fight to maintain possession of our magazines regardless of capacity…all of which are aspects of how lethal a particular weapon is in our hands. I won’t shy away from the fact that I buy my guns to kill, but hope I never have to.
I fully believe this s one of the core issues in the right to bear arms. Many will believe that we have no right to kill another (or even an animal). I respect those views despite my extreme disagreement. However I don’t believe yet that our country has given up on our individual liberties, and we still hold them sacrosanct.
Though it may never happen, it has never been a question whether someone can come and attempt to take my “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” One only has to turn on the evening news to see case after case of the reasons to carry and own firearms. History is on our side and we must continue to fight against those who would rob us of the best tool to ensure that we can defend what we hold most dear on equal footing of those would doing the taking.