Guns are totally a guy thing. Guys like to throw rocks, make loud noises, play with fire, and try to pretend like we understand machines too complicated for our brains to handle. I know, because I’m a guy. A firearm is basically the culmination of all primordial things “manly”. These are the reasons that I enjoy shooting. Unfortunately you can’t overlook the fact that the reason guns were invented in the first place was to kill (hunting or war… I don’t know which came first, but I’m guessing war). I can definitely see how this reason is a good basis for being afraid of guns. With all the shootings that have happened lately, that thought can easily be reinforced.
I can’t count how many people I’ve met throughout my life who are scared of guns. If you agree that guns scare you, I would like to share my thoughts about guns. You don’t have to agree with me, but at least think about what I have to say.
First, I would like you to consider changing your perspective on guns from “I’m scared of guns” to “I don’t like guns”. Now this may not seem like a big difference at first, but people who are scared of guns are generally ignorant of gun operation, use, and safety. The reason is that they are “scared”, and if you are scared of something, you usually don’t want to be in the same vicinity, let alone handle and learn about that something. If you change your thinking to “I don’t like guns” then we can go to the next step and tack on, “but I respect them.” And to respect something you must learn about it.
The leap requires you to get over your “fear” of guns and actually learn about them. At this point, if you are saying “no way will I ever handle a gun” let me set up a very common situation:
Uncle Bob is on vacation for a few weeks and you said you’d house sit for him. You take your kids to uncle Bob’s house to let his dog out. Your kids are horsing around in the living room, and all of a sudden, they knock into Bob’s favorite recliner. On of your kids says “mommy mommy, look what I found!” and points to a gun that fell out of the chair.
If you’re afraid of guns, what would you do? You have two weeks until Bob gets back, and you can’t just leave it sit there on the floor with your kids there. Any good parent would know to tell their kids to not touch it and get back, but would you know how to safely handle it? Do you know how to tell if it’s loaded? Could you unload it to make it safe in case someone else found it again? (Your kids are sure to be curious to where you put it – especially if they are boys.)
Now that is a pretty extreme case, but there are other cases that are just as likely. Considering that there are 9 guns for every 10 people in the US, your chances of encountering a gun are pretty high. Maybe your husband forgets to put a gun away before running to the store and you have company knock on the door. Or what about having a roommate that owns a gun – could you tell if they were safely handling it? These situations are very controllable and safe, as long as you don’t flip out. Twice in my life I’ve picked up a gun belonging to someone else and found that it was loaded. Since I know how to check that a gun is safe, there wasn’t a problem.
Unexpected situations like these make it prudent for you to learn about guns, even if you don’t like them, or ever want to own one. There are many ways to learn to safely handle a firearm, and chances are that you have a respectable friend who would be willing to teach you for free. Other resources include your local Police/Shariff’s office, and many ranges offer safety classes.
I hope that, after reading this, you are willing to attempt to change your view from “fear” to “respect”. It is a big step, but learning about guns can only help you out.
I help lead a target shooting life group at my church. If you have a few minutes, check out our site: http://sharpshooters.lifegroupcentral.com/
We generally limit our group to gun owners, but if you want to learn about guns and gun safety, we would definitely be willing to take you along on our next outing.
