stories/tu-rkba-responsibilities-letter.html

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Thu, 14 Mar 2002 13:53:28 GMT
Comments --------

This is a little long for a letter to the editor. If length is a deciding issue, please consider cutting paragraphs 7 ("Government has no business restricting your rights, but surprise..."), 3 ("If you intend to carry..."), and 4 ("If you're not willing..."), in that order. Alternatively, I could expand it a little and submit it as an op-ed.

The Letter ----------

In the March 7 issue, the TU printed a letter I wrote about the right to keep and bear arms. With rights come responsibilities. This letter mentions a few of them.

If you don't know why every gun is always loaded, no matter how many times you've checked that it isn't, you need to learn how to handle firearms safely. Contact the NRA, your local gun club, or almost any responsible gun owner. At the very least, read and learn by heart Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety. Safety is rule number one of firearms ownership.

If you intend to carry, it's a really good idea to get professional training in when and how to use your firearm for self defense. Some of the big names in this business are the Lethal Force Institute, Gunsite, Front Sight, and Thunder Ranch, but there are hundreds of others. Books and videos can help, but there is no substitute for hands-on training.

If you're not willing and able to use your self-defense weapon responsibly, don't carry it.

Though government has no business restricting your right to obtain, own, and carry firearms, when you take your gun out of your pocket or holster in public, it becomes their business. Except in defense of person or property, pointing a gun at someone is assault with a deadly weapon. Pulling the trigger is attempted murder. Serious felonies.

Guns and alcohol don't mix. Ever.

Government has no business restricting your rights, but surprise, they already have. Though most of the thousands of existing weapons laws are blatantly unconstitutional, that doesn't stop the police from enforcing them. If you decide that your rights to life, liberty, and property are incompatible with the local laws, I recommend thinking hard about how you will deal with it. The choices are not pleasant, and noone can decide for you.

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