I
have never liked guns myself. I am a little guy, wimpy some may say. But I
really like the idea of those who have proper licensing, training, a sense of
responsibility and who pass background checks to have guns and concealed carry
permits.
I
want them to protect me.
Protect
me against terrorists, robbers, home invaders, carjackers, dope crazed idiots
and others who wish me or my friends and neighbors harm.
Let
me tell you a story of why I am for gun ownership. Many years ago in Oklahoma
City, when I was about 6 or 7 years old, my father took me and my mother out on
a summer Sunday evening to get some ice cream. My father was a tough man,
unlike his wimpy son. My dad was a carpenter, car mechanic, soldier, hardware store
manager. Many men of that day were like him.
He knew firearms and was not fearful of them. I saw
him many times load and unload a variety of weapons and there were shotguns and
rifles hanging on our family walls.
He was not a
hunter, but loved fishing. I did not like hunting, but did like to fish
occasionally. I did go deer hunting with an uncle and my father one cold
Thanksgiving Day near Stroud, Oklahoma. It was horrible and the dead deer were
hung on the street in Stroud so the hunters could proudly proclaim their kills.
But back to the ice cream venture. My mom and dad
were in the front seat of an old Pontiac with me in the back. We lived near
downtown in an old house with my grandparents. The home had a big front porch
and I remember looking back at the home and big porch as we drove away. It was
early Sunday evening.
My dad made a left turn onto a fairly busy street.
His left turn did not interfere with oncoming traffic in any way. After about
three blocks another car started following us. The ice cream store was near
Northwest 23 rd. Street and not many blocks away from our home.
My dad was not fearful of anyone, or so it seemed to
a small child. We parked in front of the ice cream store and my dad opened the
door and got out. My mom hesitated and I instantly knew of her hesitation. The
car which had followed us had suddenly parked in back of our car on the street
blocking any getaway.
My father started walking up to the store when three
men who were in the car suddenly assaulted him. They were armed with knives and
my mother started screaming. My father was unarmed, but fought back against the
three assailants. Eventually, another man seeing the fight from the ice cream
store entered the fray assisting my father.
But the sight of three men with knives assaulting my
father was and still is a frightful scene for a child or anyone else. The three
assailants were driven off by my father. He had been stabbed three times. We drove immediately to St.
Anthony’s Hospital not too far away.
Eventually,
the police were called by bystanders and the assailants stopped and arrested
blocks away. The muggers were high on drugs and whiskey. Drugs were a big
problem, even many years away.
And now you can understand where I am heading. If my
father had taken his handgun with him that early Sunday evening he might not
have been stabbed and the three assailants driven off without the horror of
that evening. It was a miracle that
neither my Father nor my Mom were killed. I was huddled down in the back of the
car but able to view everything. Even stupid and violent people cranked on
speed or whiskey have enough brain cells working to know they don’t want to be
in the vicinity at hammer-goes-down time.
My father often worked in a rather tough part of Oklahoma
City and routinely carried a handgun with him. He never encountered any
trouble, perhaps due to many knowing he was always armed. But on that nice
Summer Sunday evening he was unarmed and could have been killed.
So, that is my story. Handguns are dangerous. And
our environment is often dangerous too with others wishing us harm. It is too bad that violence or the threat of
violence is often necessary. I need those of you with guns to protect a little
wimp like me.
Allan
Saxe is a political science professor, pundit and philanthropist.
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