by Adam Russo

Created on: December 06, 2008

Right after we tucked our children into their beds, I nestled in next to my wife. I kissed her good night, and laid my head down to put an end to another day. It wasn't but five minutes later while I was falling into a deep sleep, I was abruptly awaken by the sound of shattering glass. Maybe it was the cat, knocking down a crystal keepsake, maybe one of the kids was thirsty and dropped a water glass. I decided to check it out. Before I could even get out of bed, a shadow crept across our hallway. It wasn't Fluffy the cat, and it was too big to be little Suzy. The thought of protecting my wife and children was the first thing that popped into my brain. I instinctively snuck to the closet to get my gun, and then it hit me. The government deemed it unlawful for me to have a firearm. Well doesn't that just suck a big one. Bigger than the barrel of the gun that the intruder currently has aimed at my family while his partner has free reign over my possessions and well-being.

This situation could happen at any time, to any person. You wouldn't necessarily have to be in the confines of your own residence. You could be mugged downtown, assaulted in the grocery store, hijacked in a plane. The possibilities are endless. While a law is passed to infringe upon good, law-abiding citizens owning guns, it can not, and will not, ever take the guns out of criminals' hands. That effectively gives them all the upper hand in day to day life. It also increases the chances that you will someday be presented with a situation in which your life is unnecessarily at risk.

You simply cannot convince me that gun ownership is a crime. With proper registration, training, and box of bullets, the citizenry becomes its own police force. Nobody is saying that just because you possess a firearm, you have to go waving it around at every situation you feel wronged. The old lady at the store may find it unnecessary to own a gun. But, in the event that a thug tries to strong arm her purse away, I bet she would feel better knowing that five people around her do have guns. The creep wouldn't get very far if he does take her wallet.

Lets say for instance you are waiting in line at a bank, and a group of masked gunmen storm in demanding everyone to get on the floor. In situation A, nobody around has a gun, and said bank robbers terrorize the place and its customers. They make off with several thousand dollars, and most of the people in the bank are needlessly scarred for life. Now, in situation B, several patrons of the bank are indeed armed. It wouldn't take very long for the thieves to realize they made a pretty big gaffe. The whole situation may very well have been resolved without a single gunshot being fired, and the felons taken away by the local authorities. This would serve two purposes. The people doing business at the bank get to keep their money, and in the event the culprits got away, I guarantee that they would think very hard about ever trying a stunt like that again.

The safety of the masses, and more importantly, the safety of you and your loved ones, depends upon whether or not the side of good has a fighting chance against the side of bad. One way to make sure that we have a fair fight, is to allow any and every one to be properly equipped. Our founding fathers knew this, and we should know this.

"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

The second amendment to the Constitution of the United States. That should be argument enough that any law passed to limit gun ownership is a threat to the population.

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