I Own a Firearm

I Own a Firearm

I will not insult your intelligence and tell you that I do not own a firearm.  Don’t count on me telling you what type of firearm I own.  Whether or not I carry a concealed weapon is something only for me to know.  There are certain facts that I keep close to the chest. 

I would like to think that I don’t suffer from any mental disease or defect that would cause me to go off the deep end and walk onto a schoolground and start shooting innocent children.  I am not on any meds that would cause me to go bonkers and I’m not in therapy.  My doctor has no problem with me owning a firearm.  Moreover, my barber, who knows me better than my doctor, wants to go shooting with me.

My reasoning for owning a firearm is something that I am willing to share.

I Own a Firearm…

… because I carried one in the line of duty for 25 years.  It became a part of me.  More importantly, during that period of time I saw what people can do to others.  While there is much good out there, the ugly exists and it isn’t very pretty. 

… because my trust level is pretty low.  It has been violated enough over the years that I still sit with my back to walls in restaurants.

… because I sent a fair number of people to prison, some of whom promised retaliation.  I’m easy to find.

… for the defense of my family and for self-defense within the bubble I call home.  Home is more than four walls and a roof overhead.  There are nearly half a dozen police officers that live in my neighborhood.  After they got a phone call, got appropriately dressed, in their car and at my front door the shooting would be over.  Likewise, responding to our home from anywhere within the five square miles of our community would likely take seven to ten minutes.

… for the defense of others.  Among those others are police officers.  We see more and more where police officers are being attacked in their cars or on the street.  IF I was carrying a firearm with me and IF I saw a police officer being attacked by some thug I would not hesitate to aid that officer.  When I travel and IF I am traveling with a firearm, it is for that very reason that I have it with me, not to mention for protection of bubble I call home.

… because of international threats to our country.  No doubt, an attack on the United States would begin with massive bombing of our country, but someone’s troops would be on the ground doing the mop-up.  I would do my part to make sure that the threat of someone behind every rock, tree, or bush had a gun would be a promise and not a threat. 

… because of the other threats we face that come in the form of terrorism and drug cartels.  Those threats are ruthless and if you are my neighbor you will be glad that I have a firearm.  (Chances are pretty good that in Texas my neighbor will be standing next to me.)

… so I can feed my family.  In the unlikely event that chaos erupts and store shelves become empty I will have a fighting chance to put meat on our table.

… to protect myself, my family, and my community from right and left-wing extremists.  There are armed camps for both in this country and you should not think for a minute that they would hesitate to use deadly force if they thought their way of living and their perception of governing was challenged.

… because I have seen in history what happens to a people when they surrender their firearms to government, our own government included.  The benevolent United States of America has a history of disarming groups of people and then slaughtering them.  There is no doubt that the United States Government has bigger guns than what I own.  Tanks, RPGs, F-16s can do a lot of damage, but there are rocks and trees and bushes.

… because I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to protect it against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  I was not relieved of that oath when I retired.

… in defense of “our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children.”  While I may depend upon government to provide these protections, ultimately it is up to me because a time may come when government will not.  It is something I cannot abdicate.

… because it is my God-given right to protect my family from any source that threatens it and because it is my Constitutional right to do it with a firearm.