GUNS DON'T KILL - ANGRY AND IMPULSIVE PEOPLE WITH GUNS DO

The NRA bumper sticker that reads, "Guns Don't Kill – People Do" is a popular gun owner's message, but I think there are a few words missing from that sticker that might put the issue in better prospective. I'd rather the sticker say, "Guns Don't Kill – Angry and Impulsive People with Guns Do".

You'll get no argument from me that the Constitution affords an individual the right to own firearms, and now that the Supreme Court has clearly upheld that right, any argument to the contrary is pretty much a moot point. What I will argue, however, is that society, and by that I mean each and every one of us, should take a moment to ask who are the angry and impulsive people in our lives, and do they own a gun.

I don't feel threatened by the millions of gun owners in America who possess and use their firearms for lawful purposes. Having once hunted, I appreciate the attraction many have for that sport. Given the level of crime and violence in America today, I also understand why an individual would make the choice to arm themselves for personal protection. Most gun owners are law-abiding citizens and their gun ownership isn't something that keeps me awake at night.

The gun owners who do worry me are the angry and impulsive ones; the teenage gang member with no hope of a future; a controlling spouse who suddenly finds themselves estranged; a disgruntled employee with an axe to grind; and an angry and paranoid loner. Those are the people you read about in the paper: a 15 year old who kills for a cell phone, a fired warehouse driver in Connecticut that kills 8, a biology professor denied tenure in Alabama who kills 3, a disgruntled factory worker in Philadelphia who kills 2, and an angry Kentucky spouse who kills 5 because his wife served him cold eggs.

Coping with those stories are part of the price we pay for having a right to gun ownership in America, and that price must be borne by all, but many of the people who lose their lives in those stories are not the gun owners, and what many non-gun owners like myself would appreciate from our armed brethren, is a sense of gratitude for the price that many unarmed innocent people pay so that law abiding gun owners can exercise their rights.