So I got drawn into a gun-control debate over the weekend (occasioned by the President’s foolish remarks), which goes to show that I need better self-control. But something good came out of it for me, which was this realization: when people say “Guns make you safe” is a myth, they’re right. Guns are not like helmets or shields or bunkers that offer protection and make your life safer. A gun (or a knife like the Triple-O) is really an offensive weapon that can be used to inflict damage. A good way to think of it is this:
Guns don’t make you safe. Guns make you dangerous.
This is a reality that can’t be denied; the power to inflict so much damage right in your hand makes you very dangerous indeed. The goal, of course, is to have the training and mindset and good habits ingrained so that you are dangerous to the right people. Not dangerous to your children, by failing to secure your weapons, not dangerous to bystanders by being unable to hit your target, and not dangerous to yourself by having really lousy muzzle control. But dangerous to predators and terrorists and others who would do harm.
As Cooper said, having a gun doesn’t make you armed any more than having a guitar makes you a musician. But that doesn’t mean we get rid of our guns; it means we train and practice and prepare and make ourselves every bit as dangerous as we can be.
If you can’t be safe, be dangerous!
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