Thanks, But No Thanks
There's a priceless Letter to the Editor in today's Boston Globe from one Christine McElroy, a "concerned" citizen from the People's Republic of Cambridge. File this one under: too tempting to pass up.
I couldn't agree more, Christine. But, it should end there as well. Something tells me you would beg to differ on that particular.
Is that a "fact"?
I suppose you could argue that by not owning a gun, your child will not shoot themselves in the head with it. Likewise, if you don't own a swimming pool, your child will never drown in it. And, if you don't own a car, your child will never wrap it around a phone pole. And, if you don't own any sharp kitchen knives, your kid will never cut their wrist open with them. And, if you don't own any drain cleaner...
As a responsible, law-abiding parent and gun owner who understands both the responsibilities that accompany being a gun owner, such as preventing unauthorized access to one's firearms, and the benefits that owning a gun and knowing how to use it can provide, I have say abso-fucking-lutely yes!
What? Are you saying that we should all have the right to choose whether or not to keep firearms in our homes? That's quite a radical turnaround for a Cambridge liberal such as yourself to be undertaking. Don't hurt your neck.
Needless to say, you couldn't be more wrong as to our being able to "totally control" whether we have guns in our homes. I'll wager you've never walked your ass down to the CPD to apply for a License to Carry a Firearm. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.
The "option" of having guns in our homes is totally controlled by the state. For people like yourself, with absolutely no desire to own a gun, you do not actually get to "choose" that option. The government has made that choice for you. Is this getting too complicated for you? I could slow down if you need me to.
"Without any government intervention"? Yes, you sound like quite the freedom-loving, pro-personal responsibility, small-government Libertarian there.
Like the risk of having someone break into my home to abduct and molest my daughters, and my being absolutely powerless to do anything to stop that from happening?
No. Fucking. Thank you.
Anyone stupid enough to attempt to harm my wife or pose an imminent threat to the health and well-being of my children, will learn quite rapidly the true definition of "a risk not worth taking".
"Our" guns? Excuse me.
They are in no way "your" guns.
They're my guns. And, they're the millions of guns owned by millions of law-abiding gun owners throughout the country. Tell me, Christine, how many of those guns were not used in any suicides this week? this year? ever?
And the fact that my children are the most important part of my life is the very reason I own them, whether you approve or not.
Gun control begins at home
I couldn't agree more, Christine. But, it should end there as well. Something tells me you would beg to differ on that particular.
THE RECENT suicide of a teenage boy in Arlington is such a tragedy (City & Region, Page B1, Jan. 28), and it makes sense to investigate the role of drugs in this. But maybe it is time that we parents look deep within ourselves and reflect on the fact that we increase the risk that our children, accidentally or deliberately, will kill themselves or someone else if we own a handgun.
Is that a "fact"?
I suppose you could argue that by not owning a gun, your child will not shoot themselves in the head with it. Likewise, if you don't own a swimming pool, your child will never drown in it. And, if you don't own a car, your child will never wrap it around a phone pole. And, if you don't own any sharp kitchen knives, your kid will never cut their wrist open with them. And, if you don't own any drain cleaner...
Is this a chance we are willing to take?
As a responsible, law-abiding parent and gun owner who understands both the responsibilities that accompany being a gun owner, such as preventing unauthorized access to one's firearms, and the benefits that owning a gun and knowing how to use it can provide, I have say abso-fucking-lutely yes!
No parent these days can fully control whether their child becomes depressed, hostile and distant, picked on, or influenced by drugs, disappointments, or media. No parent can foresee a suicide. But one thing that we can totally control is whether we have guns in our homes.
What? Are you saying that we should all have the right to choose whether or not to keep firearms in our homes? That's quite a radical turnaround for a Cambridge liberal such as yourself to be undertaking. Don't hurt your neck.
Needless to say, you couldn't be more wrong as to our being able to "totally control" whether we have guns in our homes. I'll wager you've never walked your ass down to the CPD to apply for a License to Carry a Firearm. Please, correct me if I'm wrong.
The "option" of having guns in our homes is totally controlled by the state. For people like yourself, with absolutely no desire to own a gun, you do not actually get to "choose" that option. The government has made that choice for you. Is this getting too complicated for you? I could slow down if you need me to.
Without any government intervention, parents could voluntarily get rid of their guns...
"Without any government intervention"? Yes, you sound like quite the freedom-loving, pro-personal responsibility, small-government Libertarian there.
...turn them in to the police, or donate them to a local target-shooting club. We could let our kids know that no risk to their safety, however slight, is worth taking...
Like the risk of having someone break into my home to abduct and molest my daughters, and my being absolutely powerless to do anything to stop that from happening?
No. Fucking. Thank you.
Anyone stupid enough to attempt to harm my wife or pose an imminent threat to the health and well-being of my children, will learn quite rapidly the true definition of "a risk not worth taking".
...and that they are more important to us than our guns.
"Our" guns? Excuse me.
They are in no way "your" guns.
They're my guns. And, they're the millions of guns owned by millions of law-abiding gun owners throughout the country. Tell me, Christine, how many of those guns were not used in any suicides this week? this year? ever?
And the fact that my children are the most important part of my life is the very reason I own them, whether you approve or not.
CHRISTINE McELROY
Cambridge
