Gun control advocates are missing the point; 'a gun is harmless by itself'

I have but one thing to say about Jackie Casey's articles about gun control, Good Work. It is a relief to finally see someone in the media having the bravery to tell the truth about the unconstitutional act of gun control. I would also like to comment about the letters that have come in against her articles, mostly Todd McKay's. Yes, a total of 39,595 deaths were reported by firearms in 1993, but how many of those were by people defending themselves, and how many lives were saved by the simple act of someone having a gun to protect themselves? You don't find those stats in many places, and Todd, let's face it, a gun is a tool and like any tool it can be misused. True, once in a while a deranged individual might go on a shooting spree that kills a lot of people, but how soon would that shooting spree end if just one of the people nearby had been carrying a gun and defended themselves and the others around them?

A gun like any other weapon or tool is harmless by itself, it takes a conscious act of will to operate it, and that act of will comes from the most dangerous weapon ever devised, the sentient human brain. With a living thinking brain we can create and destroy and it is an act of will that shapes everything about us. So maybe you're asking what about all those accidental shooting deaths, well the reason for those deaths is simple ignorance. If a person is taught how to use and respect a gun like any other tool the chances of their misuse of it drops exponentially.

I'm the youngest of four children in my family and when I was about four my parents took me with my siblings to the gun cabinet to show us the guns we had in the house. My parents got out all the guns and as a family we cleaned them and my parents taught us all about the guns, how to maintain and care for them and most importantly that they were not toys. There has never been an incident where any of us were accidentally shot by one of those guns, and we had guns up on the walls of the living room; we knew what the guns were for.

Ms. Casey, thank you for having the guts to tell the truth. One last thing, as my Grandpa Joe says, "Gun Control is hitting what you aim at every time."

By Sean Schauer (letter)
Arizona Daily Wildcat
May 6, 1997