guns & safety
[email protected]
This is a topic that I've stayed away from but will share my 3 real
experiences with guns, for what it's worth...
As a child, my abusive, alcoholic, mentally ill father had a .12
gauge shotgun for hunting. He loved that gun and probably the
powerful feeling it gave him. We have Polaroid pictures of the gun
and ammo and I keep those to this day as a reminder. When my father
was "in a mood" and became abusive to my mother, with me as a captive
audience, he took out his loaded .12 gauge and would hold it up to my
mother's head. She would do or say anything that he wanted to get
out of that situation alive and to prevent me from watching her get
shot. This is not a scene from a movie or a dramatized portrayal of
reality, this actually happened. My mother lied, "Yes, I love you
and only you. I will do anything for you. You are a wonderful
husband and father" She would do ANYTHING to keep from getting
shot. Did she set a bad example for me? Or did she save her own
life? This IS extreme, yet a lie had occurred. I could care less
about her dishonesty because, "No, I don't love you, I hate you. You
are a horrible person." would have gotten her killed.
A very similiar thing happened to my best friend when she was married
to an abusive alcoholic man (the father of her only child). Jim and
I were playing cards at their house one night and we were all
drinking, having a good, but competitive time (spades, men
vs.women). An argument broke out between her and her husband and
things got out of control very quickly. Her husband, too, was a
hunter and had a rifle. Right in front of us, he went and got his
shotgun and pointed it at her. I do not know if it was loaded, but
all of us would have said or done anything to have him put that gun
away!
Last but not least, when Jim & I were teenagers we went to a quarry
with a big group of our friends and had a bonfire and a party that
night. Two teenage guys that we didn't know came out of the woodsy
area and right up to us wondering what we were doing there. One was
carrying a shotgun and the other an ax or hatchet. They certainly
didn't look friendly, and we were on their "turf". Here we are, very
suburban, "whitebread" teenagers staring at two "gang" members. So,
one of our very outspoken friends stood up, apologized for us
intruding, offered for all of us to leave, then offered a beer, and,
ultimately, diffused the situation. I'm pretty sure that lying
occurred here, too, because we weren't sorry for being there, we
didn't want to leave, and didn't want them to stay. But, no one had
gotten shot, either.
So, guns can leave you in very unexpected situations and getting out
of that situation, by any means, would be, in my opinion, by far, the
safest. I believe that those who offered the opinion that, by
telling your children in advance about gun safety and that "you have
to be home 10 minutes ago if a gun comes out" is very sound advice
that could save a life.
Chris
experiences with guns, for what it's worth...
As a child, my abusive, alcoholic, mentally ill father had a .12
gauge shotgun for hunting. He loved that gun and probably the
powerful feeling it gave him. We have Polaroid pictures of the gun
and ammo and I keep those to this day as a reminder. When my father
was "in a mood" and became abusive to my mother, with me as a captive
audience, he took out his loaded .12 gauge and would hold it up to my
mother's head. She would do or say anything that he wanted to get
out of that situation alive and to prevent me from watching her get
shot. This is not a scene from a movie or a dramatized portrayal of
reality, this actually happened. My mother lied, "Yes, I love you
and only you. I will do anything for you. You are a wonderful
husband and father" She would do ANYTHING to keep from getting
shot. Did she set a bad example for me? Or did she save her own
life? This IS extreme, yet a lie had occurred. I could care less
about her dishonesty because, "No, I don't love you, I hate you. You
are a horrible person." would have gotten her killed.
A very similiar thing happened to my best friend when she was married
to an abusive alcoholic man (the father of her only child). Jim and
I were playing cards at their house one night and we were all
drinking, having a good, but competitive time (spades, men
vs.women). An argument broke out between her and her husband and
things got out of control very quickly. Her husband, too, was a
hunter and had a rifle. Right in front of us, he went and got his
shotgun and pointed it at her. I do not know if it was loaded, but
all of us would have said or done anything to have him put that gun
away!
Last but not least, when Jim & I were teenagers we went to a quarry
with a big group of our friends and had a bonfire and a party that
night. Two teenage guys that we didn't know came out of the woodsy
area and right up to us wondering what we were doing there. One was
carrying a shotgun and the other an ax or hatchet. They certainly
didn't look friendly, and we were on their "turf". Here we are, very
suburban, "whitebread" teenagers staring at two "gang" members. So,
one of our very outspoken friends stood up, apologized for us
intruding, offered for all of us to leave, then offered a beer, and,
ultimately, diffused the situation. I'm pretty sure that lying
occurred here, too, because we weren't sorry for being there, we
didn't want to leave, and didn't want them to stay. But, no one had
gotten shot, either.
So, guns can leave you in very unexpected situations and getting out
of that situation, by any means, would be, in my opinion, by far, the
safest. I believe that those who offered the opinion that, by
telling your children in advance about gun safety and that "you have
to be home 10 minutes ago if a gun comes out" is very sound advice
that could save a life.
Chris
[email protected]
This is a topic that I've stayed away from but will share my 3 real
experiences with guns, for what it's worth...
As a child, my abusive, alcoholic, mentally ill father had a .12
gauge shotgun for hunting. He loved that gun and probably the
powerful feeling it gave him. We have Polaroid pictures of the gun
and ammo and I keep those to this day as a reminder. When my father
was "in a mood" and became abusive to my mother, with me as a captive
audience, he took out his loaded .12 gauge and would hold it up to my
mother's head. She would do or say anything that he wanted to get
out of that situation alive and to prevent me from watching her get
shot. This is not a scene from a movie or a dramatized portrayal of
reality, this actually happened. My mother lied, "Yes, I love you
and only you. I will do anything for you. You are a wonderful
husband and father" She would do ANYTHING to keep from getting
shot. Did she set a bad example for me? Or did she save her own
life? This IS extreme, yet a lie had occurred. I could care less
about her dishonesty because, "No, I don't love you, I hate you. You
are a horrible person." would have gotten her killed.
A very similiar thing happened to my best friend when she was married
to an abusive alcoholic man (the father of her only child). Jim and
I were playing cards at their house one night and we were all
drinking, having a good, but competitive time (spades, men
vs.women). An argument broke out between her and her husband and
things got out of control very quickly. Her husband, too, was a
hunter and had a rifle. Right in front of us, he went and got his
shotgun and pointed it at her. I do not know if it was loaded, but
all of us would have said or done anything to have him put that gun
away!
Last but not least, when Jim & I were teenagers we went to a quarry
with a big group of our friends and had a bonfire and a party that
night. Two teenage guys that we didn't know came out of the woodsy
area and right up to us wondering what we were doing there. One was
carrying a shotgun and the other an ax or hatchet. They certainly
didn't look friendly, and we were on their "turf". Here we are, very
suburban, "whitebread" teenagers staring at two "gang" members. So,
one of our very outspoken friends stood up, apologized for us
intruding, offered for all of us to leave, then offered a beer, and,
ultimately, diffused the situation. I'm pretty sure that lying
occurred here, too, because we weren't sorry for being there, we
didn't want to leave, and didn't want them to stay. But, no one had
gotten shot, either.
So, guns can leave you in very unexpected situations and getting out
of that situation, by any means, would be, in my opinion, by far, the
safest. I believe that those who offered the opinion that, by
telling your children in advance about gun safety and that "you have
to be home 10 minutes ago if a gun comes out" is very sound advice
that could save a life.
Chris
experiences with guns, for what it's worth...
As a child, my abusive, alcoholic, mentally ill father had a .12
gauge shotgun for hunting. He loved that gun and probably the
powerful feeling it gave him. We have Polaroid pictures of the gun
and ammo and I keep those to this day as a reminder. When my father
was "in a mood" and became abusive to my mother, with me as a captive
audience, he took out his loaded .12 gauge and would hold it up to my
mother's head. She would do or say anything that he wanted to get
out of that situation alive and to prevent me from watching her get
shot. This is not a scene from a movie or a dramatized portrayal of
reality, this actually happened. My mother lied, "Yes, I love you
and only you. I will do anything for you. You are a wonderful
husband and father" She would do ANYTHING to keep from getting
shot. Did she set a bad example for me? Or did she save her own
life? This IS extreme, yet a lie had occurred. I could care less
about her dishonesty because, "No, I don't love you, I hate you. You
are a horrible person." would have gotten her killed.
A very similiar thing happened to my best friend when she was married
to an abusive alcoholic man (the father of her only child). Jim and
I were playing cards at their house one night and we were all
drinking, having a good, but competitive time (spades, men
vs.women). An argument broke out between her and her husband and
things got out of control very quickly. Her husband, too, was a
hunter and had a rifle. Right in front of us, he went and got his
shotgun and pointed it at her. I do not know if it was loaded, but
all of us would have said or done anything to have him put that gun
away!
Last but not least, when Jim & I were teenagers we went to a quarry
with a big group of our friends and had a bonfire and a party that
night. Two teenage guys that we didn't know came out of the woodsy
area and right up to us wondering what we were doing there. One was
carrying a shotgun and the other an ax or hatchet. They certainly
didn't look friendly, and we were on their "turf". Here we are, very
suburban, "whitebread" teenagers staring at two "gang" members. So,
one of our very outspoken friends stood up, apologized for us
intruding, offered for all of us to leave, then offered a beer, and,
ultimately, diffused the situation. I'm pretty sure that lying
occurred here, too, because we weren't sorry for being there, we
didn't want to leave, and didn't want them to stay. But, no one had
gotten shot, either.
So, guns can leave you in very unexpected situations and getting out
of that situation, by any means, would be, in my opinion, by far, the
safest. I believe that those who offered the opinion that, by
telling your children in advance about gun safety and that "you have
to be home 10 minutes ago if a gun comes out" is very sound advice
that could save a life.
Chris