My Right to Bear Arms

Oct 10, 2007 by Jared Smith

I own guns. Quite a few of them, in fact. I am grateful for the right I have to own them and for those that have provided and protected that right. I don’t consider myself a gun nut, though when at home (and often when not), I’m rarely more than a few seconds from a gun. I’m fairly active in shooting and in online gun forums. I take protecting my home and my life very seriously, as should all people. I shoot often and am pretty good at it. Because I feel passionately about the topic, and because I just feel like writing something more than a travelogue, here are the reasons I own guns:

It is my right to do so

Scriptural and prophetic counsel is clear that man has the god-given right to protect his country, religion, freedom, peace, wives, and children. If you, like me, believe the constitution was inspired, then you can’t help but wonder why the second of the constitutional amendments provides the right to keep and bear arms. After all, the founding fathers did not use their rights to free speech to gain independence from the British, they shot them. Simply having a right granted to me means I should exercise that right, not just because an un-exercised right is easier to take away, but because free men who value their freedoms do not let them sit idle.

It is my responsibility to protect

From both a social, ethical, religious, and moral standpoint, it is my responsibility to care for and protect those I love. Some would argue that a gun puts my family at a higher risk. It does. Statistics show a gun in a home is more likely to shoot a family member than an intruder (though they never site the number of lives saved by guns). Despite the fact that many do not take the responsibility of gun ownership seriously and allow accidents to happen, I will not sit idly by and become a willing victim to anybody or anything.

Some argue that if we got rid of all guns, we’d be safe. Well, making drugs illegal has certainly worked, hasn’t it? Last I checked, murder was still illegal, yet it happens every day. Statistics show, almost universally, that places (e.g., England, D.C., California, New York, Canada) that have implemented increased gun restrictions, have experienced more gun crimes. Gun control does little more than disarm those who would otherwise obey the law, thus making us easier targets for those who would not.

Some would say that I have a gun because I am paranoid. Who is more paranoid, a person that would own a gun or one who would seek to have them all removed from society?

Because I have a wife and young children

Many think it ludicrous to keep a loaded weapon in a home with children. My children are two primary reasons why I keep a loaded weapon. My guns are always out of reach, unloaded, or in my gun safe next to my bed. My four year old knows about my guns. She knows where they are kept and what they do. She can see and touch them anytime she wants, as long as I am there. They are not mysterious to her. But she also knows not to touch or go near them without me. Ever.

The other day after cleaning one of my guns, I asked her to go to the other room and get it. She was so torn because of what I had taught her many times before. When I pressed the issue, she began to sob. She knows the rules. Now her dingbat friends probably don’t, but that’s why I keep them safe and secure.

Guns are dangerous

If they weren’t, what good would they be for protection. The general purpose of a gun is to inflict a lot of damage with minimal risk to yourself. If having a gun were merely a status symbol or a means of scaring a bad guy, I’d keep a squirt gun in my pocket. If I have to use a gun to stop a threat, I want one that is going to stop that threat NOW.

To shoot things – like targets, animals, and people

Target shooting is fun. It takes great skill, patience, practice, and diligence to be good at it. Hunting is one of the most enjoyable hobbies one can have. Wait, did I say I have guns to shoot PEOPLE? Ultimately, yes.

I have a fire extinguisher in case of a fire. I have life insurance in case I die. Having these things does not mean I hope for a fire or death. And on the other hand, getting rid of my fire extinguisher won’t magically mean I’ll never experience a fire. A fire extinguisher and life insurance are tools you never hope to use, but it makes no sense at all to go without them. Then why would it make sense to not have a gun if there’s a chance you might need it? If a fire extinguisher is for putting out fires, then my gun is for shooting people. But for the most part, a gun is like an umbrella – having one at hand ensures you won’t ever need it, but not having one means you likely will.

A gun is the great equalizer

In all of history, the winners of fights have been the strongest. An old woman would certainly get jacked up by a pro boxer. Even with traditional weapons, there is usually a disparity of force. If Derek Jeter and I got in a fight with baseball bats, I’d lose badly. Yet a gun puts both parties of a fight on equal footing, regardless of strength. An old woman with a gun is equal to her carjacker. A 90 pound woman in a wheelchair can pull the trigger on a gun and be completely capable of winning a fight with her 200 pound potential rapist. Without guns, both of these women become statistics. With guns, the bad guy probably becomes the statistic.

Some argue that guns should be banned for the mere preservation of life, regardless of whether bad people would still use them. In other words, they say it’s better to be raped than to take a life preventing that rape. These same people, however, typically have no problems calling a legally armed law enforcement officer and asking them to shoot their rapist. Such people are hypocrites and poor ones at that. They outsource their responsibility to another person and feel righteous in so doing. Preservation of life is important to me, particularly when it’s my life being preserved, and it’s the primary reason why I exercise my right to bear arms.