jkh@jade.UUCP (04/03/87)
------ Jordan Hubbard, I was just reading your article again, as I printed it. You closed with "enough said", and I guess I disagree with that. The more said about home defense, the better, especially in public. I read an article from a science fiction writer who had been in Vietnam. Other writers has written fiction on warfare, and then asked him his opinion. He talked about the people comming out of the "RAMBO" movies saying such things as "It was so realistic!" and "Wow! I just loved it and will see it again". His desire was to take all such people and sentance them to 60 seconds in a real war. He talked about seeing people "trying to hold their intestines in (yes they really do slide between your fingers)". Sorry to get so graphic, but people need to realize what it means to shoot someone else, and to be shot themselves, if they intend to defend themselves with firearms. When you are being shot at, you are not going to have a lot of time to think about it then. Besides, you are not going to be very calm in thinking at that time. I am a pretty good shot, but I wonder if I could hit anything in such a situation, or if I could even pull the trigger. And I have been shooting for over 18 years. I knew some kid who insisted that, if my brother were to shoot him in the knee with a .45 automatic, he would probably say "Wow! That sure hurts!" but would not scream, cry, or even fall out of his chair. This is the kind of thinking that many people seem to have. "If I get shot, then I will just shoot back". (Thanks, Hollywood!) I have pistols around the house for self-defense (No, I do not have any children). I do not like to see regulations on firearms, since they can be abused so easily. But it would be nice to have some sort of law that, if you own a gun, you have some training on how to use it, how to take care of it, and (most of all) how to keep it safe. (I know, it would be abused and would not solve anything). Let's all take some responsibility for our actions and our firearms to keep them safe. This ESPECIALLY includes planning ahead and training. So keep up the articles on safety and planning. Richard Thomsen rgt@lanl.gov