Why I Love Guns

by Charles Carner

Guns. I love guns. Guns in the hands of private citizens are the best means for defense of home and family against criminals, and for restraining the tyrannical tendencies of government.

Guns save lives. All across the United States, from cities to suburbs to towns and rural hamlets, guns are used every day to prevent crime, protect property and deter predators. Guns allow women to walk alone without fear of assault. Guns protect policemen, and help them protect the citizens they watch over. Guns protect political leaders, prominent businessmen, celebrities, cabbies, bank guards and jewelry merchants. Every day, all day and all night, guns make it possible for people to perform risky but necessary work, and to remain alive and safe while so doing.

Guns ensure freedom. From Bunker Hill to the Battle of the Bulge, men with guns have fought oppression and liberated nations. Guns made the extraordinary philosophical vision of America’s founders possible in the real world. Without guns, Thomas Paine’s stirring call to action in Common Sense would have remained mere rhetoric – or led to futile rebellion. Guns freed the slaves in America’s Civil War. Guns stopped Hitler’s mad dream of world conquest, and Tojo’s planned Pacific empire. Guns liberated Africa from colonial chains; Africans served their masters at war – then applied the weapons and tactics they learned in distant battles to win their freedom at home. Conversely, when citizens are denied the right to own guns, oppression often follows. In the 20^th century – the bloodiest in human history – genocide from Armenia to Cambodia was in each case preceded by stripping the citizens of their arms.

Guns are beautiful. From pinfire pistols to Kentucky rifles, from Samuel Colt’s "equalizer" to the H&K battle rifle, guns are gorgeous physical objects, pleasing to the mind and the senses. To hold a 1911 model .45 in one’s hand is to experience ergonomic delight; to field-strip an FN-FAL is to thrill at the elegance of its engineering and the profound simplicity of its design. From the venerable Browning Hi-Power to the cutting-edge titanium revolvers of this new millennium, from the storied Lee-Enfield to the sexy new Steyr Scout, guns give eloquent testimony to the genius of man.

Guns are fun. From plinking with a Ruger Mark II to thundering away with a .44 Magnum, from cocking the lever on a Winchester 94 to feeding the belt into a 1919 Browning, recreational shooting is one of the most enjoyable sports ever devised. It is also one of the only sports in which age and athleticism hardly matter at all. A petite grandmother can shoot just as well as a massive linebacker; all it takes is a little practice.

Guns are teaching tools. Learning to shoot means learning discipline, respect and the right way to do things. Learning to handle guns means learning to master fear, and builds confidence. You don’t just shoot the gun. Afterwards, there is the joy of field-stripping, cleaning and maintaining your firearm. It’s easy to do (unlike, for example, performing maintenance on your car after taking it for a drive), and you learn how the weapon operates. Guns teach us about history. Do the serial number and cartouche on that old M-1 Garand mean it was used to liberate Europe from the Nazis? It may very well indeed. Was that nicked-up German Mauser refitted to .308 by the Israelis to help establish the Jewish homeland? What a satisfying irony! Go to a gun show, and seek out the display of Revolutionary War-era rifles. Each whorl in the stock, each unique, handcrafted metal band and stud, reminds us of the courageous individual Americans who took up arms, shed blood and gave blood to hand down the legacy of freedom we now take for granted.

Guns provide peace of mind. From the rancher protecting his stock from wolves, to the night clerk protecting his shop from hoodlums, from the homeowner protecting his lifelong investment from thieves, to the soccer mom protecting her child from molesters, guns provide security during waking hours, and a sound sleep at night.

Times change, fashions shift, political theories come and go. Crime rises, crime falls. Felons serve hard time, or plea-bargain their way to continued mischief. What never changes is human nature. There will always be those who devote their energies to taking what isn’t rightfully theirs, whether it be property or human life. There will always be despots who seek to rule by force rather than consent. As long as people have guns, they will have the ability to control their own destiny, rather than have it dictated to them.

That is what America is all about. And that is why I love guns.