Virginia Tech and the 2nd Amendment

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, we are reminded of an age-old axiom:

Nutjobs and guns don't mix.

...and soon some in the political arena and the media will let everyone know it (in case anyone doesn't know it already), in order to set the stage for their anti-2nd Amendment notions.

I can already hear CNN, the New York Times and Congressional Democrats (mainly lefties, though there will be a smattering of centrists and righties on this side as well) licking their chops to take advantage of this anti-gun opportunity.

Look, I'm not one of those guys in Montana who thinks that his acre of land is his own separate country. I don't go mudding on an ATV. I don't hunt. I don't even own a gun.

But I figured I'd outline some fairly decent reasons why someone would want to own a firearm. Therein we might find a fair amount of justification for defending the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution -- even in the wake of the VA Tech tragedy.

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1) Except in the very rare case of an officer being near your location at the start of an assault/murder attempt, police cannot get there fast enough to protect you from a would-be assailant. If you are armed, you at least have a chance to protect yourself and/or your family.

2) Widespread civilian gun ownership would make it difficult for anyone to subject the US to tyranny, or for any foreign power to take over the US. Assuming a foreign foe ever got past the US military, they'd then have 50,000,000 to 100,000,000 or so firearm owners to deal with, state and local police, FBI, etc. Good luck with that, buddy.

Look at the trouble we've had stopping the anti-democracy insurgency in Iraq. They are an armed populace -- at least, it seems that the bad guys have guns.

It's much easier to subjugate someone if he has no means of fighting back.

3) Hunting: Whether for fun or for sustenance, hunting is reputedly an enjoyable activity.

4) Sport-shooting and target-shooting (clay pigeons, targets, etc. -- fun!)

5) Art: Guns could be seen as stylish, neat objects to have around for their aesthetic value.

6) Collecting: Some guns are highly valued and, as such, there is a large collectible-gun market. In this way, guns can be seen as investments.

So while, in a perfect world, we could keep people like Monday's nutjob from purchasing a firearm and using it to murder 32 people, there is virtually no way to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Think about it: if the 2nd Amendment is repealed and Big Brother orders us to turn in our firearms, the law-abiding citizens will do it... and the criminals won't.

Please, government/media, let's not go overboard on this issue. Guns help us protect ourselves in certain situations, they allow us the capacity to forever fend off tyranny, they are instruments for fun and possibly even sustenance, they can be appreciated as art, and some are collectible objects and (thus) investment tools.

Not that I'm going to buy one. hehe

Well, okay, maybe one day I'll pick up a Sig P226... if that model is still around.