Farmers, guns, and the "old days" - Page 4

My parents where both farm kids that had moved to the city and soon after they married while living about fifteen blocks from a big ten university my father looked out the kitchen window and saw a rabbit eating his green beans in their small garden plot. He looked at my mother and simply told her if someone asked yes she did hear a car backfire and he grabbed his rifle and shot what became that day's lunch. can't do that today cars don't backfire like they used to in the 70's....

To JenellYB I guess I will have to say that I agree and like just about everything you said!!  And you said it quite well.  As I have previously said, I am a gun owner who regularly carries a revolver and always has a rifle handy.   As for the person who was distressed because they do not think that kids are taught about guns, that was not the case in my house and for most of the people that I know in this area, I do see that they also teach their kids about guns.

As others have stated, a firearm is a tool used to accomplish a necessary task. Much as a hammer, shovel, hoe or axe are used to do the tasks for which they are suited.

I am not registered with any party, although my views tend to lean a bit right of center. I believe in responsibility and self sufficiency and having the proper tools is a necessity in pursuing those ideals. I grew up in suburban southern California in the 1960s-1970s and there were shotguns and rifles in pickup gun racks in the high school parking lot. Nobody batted an eye. Now, discharging a BB gun in that city will land you in jail. Sad.

I moved north in 1985 and haven't looked back. The right to keep and bear arms is more than just a right, it is a responsibility.

Considering that there IS a distinct lack of value for human life, and the large number of home invasions that occur these days where people are seriously injured and killed for no reason, I do think that the Castle Laws have a place.  You should be safe in your home. Period.  And you should not be convicted of manslaughter or murder and sent to prison or get the death penalty for protecting yourself and your family when threatened in your home.  That is what the Castle Laws are for. 

Having been home alone, twice, when intruders tried to get into my home, I can tell you that it is pretty darn frightening.  Fortunately for me, they were frightened off - the first time because they didn't think anyone was home because it was the middle of the day and they woke me up when they started climbing in my bedroom window.  They were as freaked as I was when they saw me.

The next time it happened - in a different state -  someone tried to get into my home at night, while my husband was gone.  Someone that attempts to get into a home at night, when people are generally home and sleeping, is probably not there just to burglarize the place.   By this time we had multiple, large dogs that went on the alert.  The dogs nearly busted through the door and and tried to break through a window to get that intruder.  Until that guy heard the dogs trying to get at him, he kept trying to get into my house.  That was out in the country, in a large county where calling 911 meant 30 minutes or more waiting for help most of the time. 

Since then we have moved, out in the country again.  For a while when we got here, there was an active meth lab down the county road by our place.  I can't begin to count the number of times a bunch of drunk, high meth addicts drove all the way up our driveway in the middle of the night because they mistook our dirt driveway for the dirt road to the meth lab. 

Then there is the mother and daughter that were murdered and had their bodies dumped down a county road just a couple of miles from our house.  We live in a large county - another place where it may take a half hour for the sheriff or VFD to show up after you call 911 - I know, because I've had to call.

As a kid, my dad taught me that you never point a gun at ANYTHING unless you are going to use it.  It's not a toy. 

But back then, we didn't have violent video games where you get to kill everyone and they all keep coming back to life.  We knew what would happen if we fired a weapon.  And we also knew that if we touched Dad's guns - we wouldn't sit down for a very long time.  Back then, we were also taught how to behave and what was expected of us.  And if we didn't do right, anyone could come up and blister our butts.  That doesn't happen anymore.  It really is a different time.  And there really are people that make some really stupid choices and think it is ok to harm other people for no reason.  I don't spend my time fretting or looking over my shoulder.  But I am aware of the danger that exists now that I never thought about as a kid.

Do I want to shoot a person? No. Will I defend myself with whatever means I have at hand if my life or my family's life is at stake? You bet! 

I guess how common it is to see guns openly carried or "around" depends on where in the US you are. Here in the KC area it would be uincommon, but not unheard of, to see a gun in a rack in a pickup, or someone openly carrying a firearm. I can assure you that there are ALOT of guns in this town, though, as being outdoors on July 4th or New Year's Eve means taking your life in your hands... even the police take cover at midnight on New Year's..... Go out to the rural areas, though, and you'll see more guns.

At our very remote cabin in Montana, we both ALWAYS carried a gun anytime we left the front porch. People out recreating in the mountains, I believe without exception, carried guns. If someone came up to the cabin it was customary for them to stand out in the "driveway", at least 50 feet from the cabin, and holler "Hello in the house" so as not to startle the residents into coming out with gun drawn.

At my grandpa's farm in rural MO 50 years ago, he always had several guns hanging on the wall (which most any of us kids could easily reach). We were all told to NEVER touch the guns and so none of us did. When my daughter was little I kept a shotgun in the house (loaded), and instructed her from the time she was able to even crawl that she was NEVER to touch it.... just as I told her to NEVER touch anything under the sink, or any glass objects, or anything else I didn't want destroyed.... she had certain toys that she could play with all she wanted but MY stuff was off limits.... never had any incident with any of it. Nowadays people lock up everything they own from their kids, I guess because they are too lazy to TEACH their kids to keep their mitts off certain things. Just like I knew when I was a kid, my daughter knew when she was a kid that she'd get her butt blistered if she got into something she wasn't supposed to. I have made sure to teach my grandson about guns too, a la the "Eddie Eagle" program, and I've also taught him basic gun safety and let him handle my unloaded pistol (after making HIM check to make sure it was unloaded). If people are not willing to TEACH their kids anything, it's no wonder they get into trouble. Just my two cents worth.