Guns and the Law

As I have been doing research on guns, I have come across so many videos, article and the like talking about when to carry.  Many people believe that once one makes the decision to carry they must carry all the time. even in places that the law forbids.

I have to say that I am on the side that law biding citizens should be allowed to carry pretty much anywhere, including banks, post offices and schools.  I am not your problem.  There isn't a circumstance where I am ever going to pull my gun for any reason other than a lethal threat that can not be dealt with in any other way.  The bad guy already does not care about the law.  He or she is going to go into that school with a gun and shoot people up as was the case at Columbine and Virgina Tech.  The chance of an accident happen with a responsible gun owner are pretty nil.  It's a risk and accidents happen, but you can not use that as a reason not to allow people the right to protect themselves.

If you drive to my kids school at pick up time, you will see a scenario that is waiting for an accident to happen.  I am just waiting for the day when I child gets hit by a car.  Kids are running around in the street, cars going in every direction.  it is chaos.  It's a risk, but no one is suggesting we stop driving cars onto school property.

I have a friend who ran her child over with her car and killed him.  She was not drunk or distracted or careless.  She was very slowly backing out of her garage and just didn't see the little guy and she ran him over.  It was a horrific accident and one that happens in countless neighborhoods every year, but no suggest we should stop driving cars. As sad as this was, the car did not cause the accident.  The person did. This is not to blame her.  We have all pulled out without looking or changed lanes without checking our blind spot and swerved in front of another vehicle.  Something catastrophic could have happened in anyone of those cases.  I say this to clarify my views that guns are not the problem and neither are law biding citizens who choose to carry a firearm, but that is only part of the story.

Having said all that, I am not going to carry into a place that is prohibited by law

I feel strongly about my right and responsibility to protect myself and those around me, but I feel that life is a balance.  I believe that life comes with risks and that not all risks can be eliminated.  For example, I hate to fly.  I am terrified of flying because I have no control if something goes wrong, but I am not going to let fear keep me from doing something.  I do not like to fly, but I do it.  I love to travel to new places and I love to visit friends who do not live near me.  Many times driving to these places is not an option do to time or local, so am I going to give up seeing these people and places???  No.  I take the risk.  I try to limit the danger and I pray and I take the plunge.  I have the same philosophy with guns.

One of the main reasons I carry is to keep my children safe.  However, I feel that part of my responsibility to my children is to protect them for all threats, not only from murder or abduction.  In order to keep them safe in all areas to include their mental health, I need to be around.  If I get thrown in the pokey because I decided to carry into their school, I am not there to protect them.  I am not there to read to them at night or kiss their boo-boos when they fall or bring them a blanket when they are sick or watch them at their school play. I am not there to teach them right from wrong or to shoot the bad guy should he decide to come to our house. I have to choose between my desire to carry and my desire to be a  parent.  Being a parent isn't limited to just shooting the bad guy.

I believe in my 2nd Amendment Right to carry and I stand behind that law often to ensure my rights are upheld.  As one who evokes that law, I must abide by the other laws in order to make the ones I value, have value.

I absolutely believe in peaceful protest and efforts to change laws and situations that one disagrees with, but in most cases, I do not believe in breaking a law in protest of it.