I don't go to gun shows very often -- just often enough to remind myself that I really am not a gun nut. (No, seriously. Go to a big gun show, and you will quickly realize the difference between, "a gun is a necessary tool and sometimes an admirable piece of art" and something a bit more serious.) I attended one in Reno today with a friend who is in declining, perhaps terminal health.
One of the more amazing booths at the gun show was something called the Nevada Suicide Prevention Project (or some similar name). They were promoting the importance of:
1. Making sure that your guns are properly secured at home and in your car to make sure that a child or a friend does not get improper access to it, with tragic results.
2. Seeking help if you are depressed and own a gun.
These are both admirable goals, and you don't need to be a gun control supporter to see some virtue to this effort. Every suicide leaves some hurting, angry people behind -- and if that suicide was with a gun, the survivors are at risk of becoming affiliated with a gun control group.
I'm glad to see some folks advocating such. I don't love guns, but I have used them steadily since I was 11. My father taught me to be totally responsible with them (it seems I am the sort of person who tends to be very responsible, for whatever reason), and I killed an enormous amount of small game in high school (we ate it all), but it was clear to me even at 10 years of age that some folks were, more or less, too stupid to wield firearms responsibly. I was with 9-10 year old kids once (I was about the same age)who wanted to use BB guns in a "Cowboys and Indians" fight. I thought they were nuts, and promptly left. It was the only time in my life that I can recall my father complimenting me.
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