Back to the Old West

In Georgia we are going back to the old west. I have commented before on our Neanderthal legislators and Governor, who insist on legislation to allow conceal carry permit holders to "carry" just about anywhere. These "gun slinging" legislators claim that allowing the carrying of guns will make the world safer and allow these "carriers" to protect themselves.

With all of their talk about protecting children these backward thinking (Did I say Republican?) lawmakers insist that guns aren't a problem. Saturday's Atlanta Journal reported:

"...state Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome) argued that Georgia parents should worry less about guns and more about other household objects including bathtubs, “because if you are concerned about safety, more children die in the bathtubs than from guns.”

In this case, hard data exist to contradict Smith. In 2005, 1,187 children and teenagers died from drowning, while 3,027 died from gunshots. There were 4,079 drowning injuries, compared to 17,450 gunshot injuries. A child or teen dies every nine hours in a gun accident or suicide.

On those rare occasions when the gun lobby is forced to acknowledge those numbers, it tries to diminish their impact by pointing out that many of the dead are teenagers. Somehow, that fact is supposed to make their deaths less distressing to the community and the families of the dead kids."

The proposed Senate bill that will come before that august body next January only prohibits guns in courthouses, jails, and police stations. Can you possibly see a need to carry a weapon into a library? How about church? The cro-magnon legislators will respond that there have been shootings in churches. Could they have been prevented by "carriers" at church? I doubt it. The perpetrator would get the first shots. Then the "carrier" would have to hit that person quickly. This ain't a wild west movie. Roy Rogers could shoot someone from a horse, wildly out of range of his revolver. You and I can't do that. Trained police officers miss.

I haven't seen our dear governor and his minions removing the metal detectors from the capitol. They aren't going to take a chance, but they will take chances for us. After all they know what is best for us. They are our protectors. I have said it before and I will say it again. I don't want to get caught in the crossfire.

I own guns, and I see nothing wrong with that. I do not carry a gun, because I know full well that I would get shot by someone before I could hit them. I am a lousy shot with a pistol, so there is no telling what I might hit. I can hold my own with a rifle, but you can't conceal those bad boys very easily. I worry most about those who would return fire toward a perpetrator. Would they know to hold fire if innocents were too close, or would they blaze away hitting more innocents than bad guys? The latter is my guess.

Personally, I think "carrier" is a good word for these people. Just like those who carry disease, they carry death concealed under their clothing. It might very well be their own, or most likely an innocent person. Many licensed "carriers" have killed themselves or their family and friends while mishandling their guns. Contrary to what the misguided politicians say, "carriers" are not all gun safety experts by a long shot. Most are not.