i like guns, i enjoy shooting guns, i respect the history of the gun as works of craft, works of art, and a tool to an end... i enjoy the right to own a gun though i do not own one (though i know the ins and outs of gun safety, i simply do not have the time to maintain my competence with a gun to the degree where i feel comfortable having it around other people)... i appreciate the right to bear arms for the purpose of maintaining a militia... but i do not agree with the idea of open carry or guns in public. i feel this way for 2 very simple reasons.
1) Unintentional civilian casualties occurs still, even though our armed forces and law enforcement officers are held to a higher standard of fire discipline and competence than any given civilian gun owner.
2) There is nothing that will visually identify a shooter as a "good person with a gun" versus a "bad person with a gun"... and... see 1)
i understand that those who wants to open carry for safety feels that they can do more good than harm... and i appreciate their civic minded desire to do good... but, can they, with no doubt in their hearts and on their minds, tell me that they will only shoot at and harm the "bad person with a gun"?
No matter the intention behind the firing of the shot (to borrow a phrase from the NRA "guns don't kill people"), the person who's finger is on the trigger is ultimately for the result of the shot(s) they direct down field.
After all, while it is easier to identify a shooter when they are the only person in the crowd with a weapon, can you identify the "active shooter"/"bad person with a gun" in a crowd if more than one person has a gun?
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