I own four firearms myself.
A Yugoslav SKS with 30 round clip
A Remington 12 gauge Wingmaster 870
A 1917 Swedish Mauser
A Smith & Wesson .357 Highway Patrolman
The Mauser was the rifle given to me by my Dad when I turned 21.The SKS has a soldiers name on the sling and "Nina" carved into the stock.The Remington is one of the smoothest operating pump shotguns you would ever pick up.The S&W was carried for years by a Pennsylvania State Trooper.
All of these firearms have a history that I appreciate.To me they are intricate mechanical pieces of art with a function.Primarily they were designed to kill, yes.So is a bow and arrow, a makeshift club, swords, and many other things you can imagine can somehow be translated to a weapon.
Fact is that making firearms harder to purchase for law abiding citizens makes sure that unsavory folk will be armed and regular people cannot protect themselves.Look at Sweden, where people are issued a firearm by the government and trained with it.What if only criminals had guns?
I have to say, there are alot of law abiding people that have firearms and shouldn't.They either don't know what they're doing, or they're just assholes that make the rest of us gun owners look stupid.But these same people also drive cars, reproduce, have access to the internet(ie. how to build pipe bombs), and other activities that can be dangerous.
My main reason for owning firearms is simply to collect them.Much as someone who collects cars just enjoys the hobby and drives them around occasionally, I enjoy looking them over and target shooting as well.The area I live isn't very dangerous, but I do keep the S&W loaded just in case of an attack.I don't hunt anymore, but I know if times got tough, I could.Without a serviceable firearm, some people might resort to stealing food and getting sent to prison when they could hunt small game with just a .22.A firearm, taken care of, never depreciates in value.Meaning if your budget becomes tight, the guns you bought awhile ago have become an investment that pay off when and if you need to sell one.
I could go on until I'm blue in the face about why it's good to be able to own a firearm.Many people have the sad attitude that disarming the public would make the world a safer place.That would be true in a perfect world, but this world is far from it.
If you don't want to own a gun, thats good for you.I pray for your safety and I am saddened that you would purposely deprive yourself of a rewarding hobby.But to call me and millions of other Americans and people ALL OVER THE WORLD that legally own guns obsessed, insane, or just plain stupid is wrong.
Take a look at the things you surround yourself with.Can you call your aunts tea cozy collection useful?Will you be able to sell those porcelain figurines that your mother might keep on the shelf?Will the very idea that your house is packing a top of the line dual core processor rig, keep an attacker away?What about the people that have all those cats living in the house, are they not obsessed, as well as living in an unhealthy environment?
Call me nuts for being armed, but it won;t change the fact that I am armed.Attack my rights to be armed, and you will find yourself under attack when you come to confiscate my firearms.
