Bob Johnson: Most gun owners need to disassociate themselves from the extremists
Bob Johnson
Published April 25, 2003 JOHN25
As a gun owner, hunter and sportsman, I'm concerned about a common misperception: the belief that gun owners are a monolithic body of people who all march to the tune of the National Rifle Association.
As legislators debate the measure that would put more concealed, loaded handguns onto our streets, they should not assume that most gun owners would be happy with a looser permitting system. Some very misguided policies are propounded in our names, and many common-sense measures that would protect all of us are never enacted -- all out of fear that gun owners will exact their revenge at the polls if our interests are not defended.
The unfortunate truth is that those gun owners who speak the loudest represent only one rather extreme element of the gun-owning population.
The rest of us do not support the notion that our community will be safer with thousands more gun-toting citizens carrying concealed, loaded handguns. Nor do we believe that military-style combat weapons should be marketed to the general public.
Most of us do not fear reasonable regulation. We support background checks, maintenance of good records, manufacturing safety standards, and measures that make guns inaccessible to children.
Hunters are among the most responsible of gun owners. We store, care for and use our firearms properly. We treat them with respect because we know their power and understand their danger.
The "we vs. they" mentality that suffuses our discourse on firearms not only serves to polarize and paralyze discussion. It is just plain fiction.
It's time for gun owners to disassociate ourselves from the extremists who argue that any attempt to sensibly regulate firearms takes us down the slippery slope toward confiscation. There is no threat to losing our right to own guns for sport.
The real threat to gun owners is the same threat hanging over the rest of the population -- that the safety of our families will be jeopardized if the rhetoric of the gun-rights groups prevails.
Bob Johnson, owner of a national investment banking firm, lives in Farmington.
I guess when the dems introduced the legislation about banning any caliber that would penetrate a bullt proof vest his 300 win is still safe. Imagine if gun owners woke up and realized what a big danger really existed.
Bob Johnson
Published April 25, 2003 JOHN25
As a gun owner, hunter and sportsman, I'm concerned about a common misperception: the belief that gun owners are a monolithic body of people who all march to the tune of the National Rifle Association.
As legislators debate the measure that would put more concealed, loaded handguns onto our streets, they should not assume that most gun owners would be happy with a looser permitting system. Some very misguided policies are propounded in our names, and many common-sense measures that would protect all of us are never enacted -- all out of fear that gun owners will exact their revenge at the polls if our interests are not defended.
The unfortunate truth is that those gun owners who speak the loudest represent only one rather extreme element of the gun-owning population.
The rest of us do not support the notion that our community will be safer with thousands more gun-toting citizens carrying concealed, loaded handguns. Nor do we believe that military-style combat weapons should be marketed to the general public.
Most of us do not fear reasonable regulation. We support background checks, maintenance of good records, manufacturing safety standards, and measures that make guns inaccessible to children.
Hunters are among the most responsible of gun owners. We store, care for and use our firearms properly. We treat them with respect because we know their power and understand their danger.
The "we vs. they" mentality that suffuses our discourse on firearms not only serves to polarize and paralyze discussion. It is just plain fiction.
It's time for gun owners to disassociate ourselves from the extremists who argue that any attempt to sensibly regulate firearms takes us down the slippery slope toward confiscation. There is no threat to losing our right to own guns for sport.
The real threat to gun owners is the same threat hanging over the rest of the population -- that the safety of our families will be jeopardized if the rhetoric of the gun-rights groups prevails.
Bob Johnson, owner of a national investment banking firm, lives in Farmington.
I guess when the dems introduced the legislation about banning any caliber that would penetrate a bullt proof vest his 300 win is still safe. Imagine if gun owners woke up and realized what a big danger really existed.
SHEESH!!!
