Dear Crabby,
It seems like every time I turn on the news there’s another shooting. Do you think more gun control in this country is needed?
Thanks, Peter Paz
Dear Mr. Paz,
You certainly ask a loaded question (pun intended) and I wish I had an easy answer. Let me first start by saying I grew up with guns. My dad, uncles, and grandpas all hunted and we kids relished the day when we were old enough to join them. It was a rite of passage for us. That being said, much like that kid Ralphie from A Christmas Story, we were told that if we didn’t respect and handle the guns properly, you could shoot your eye out. Scared us straight I tell ya. Of course this was all before videos games like Call of Duty and movies with over-the-top explosions. The only ‘celebrities’ we saw using guns were in westerns – and they always got the bad guy, because it was very clear who the bad guys were. And I guess that’s part of the problem; it’s not so easy to tell these days.
Obviously, something needs to be done because what we’ve got in place ain’t doing the job. But you also can’t force people to change. This country was built on the fact we didn’t like the King of England telling us what we could and could not do. Just look what happened when that former New York City Mayor Bloomberg tried to limit the size of sodas. The people demanded it was their ‘right’ to have a 64-ounce Big Gulp. Are those things good for you? Nope. Will drinking too many of them cause weight gain and send your blood sugar sky rocketing? Yup. But sometimes people have to reach those conclusions on their own instead of having rules crammed down their throats. I definitely agree folks on the ‘No-Fly’ list shouldn’t be able to get guns and that most folks outside of law enforcement have no business owning automatic weapons, but let’s face it. Even the strictest gun laws can’t completely prevent tragedy from happening. In some of the shootings the guns were purchased legally, which makes me think that there might be other forces at play. But I’m no psychologist, so don’t quote me. So, I guess what I’m trying to say it’s all about finding a balance that will help keep us safe without stomping on the principles that have helped make this country great for over 200 years. As for me, I may or may not currently have a handful of firearms scattered about casa de Crabby. Just putting that out there to anyone who might want to swing my place to stir up trouble.
Here’s to finding a little peace on earth, and a solution we can all live with, in the New Year.
Thanks! Dear Crabby
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