As for your drunk driving analogy, I’m not sure it holds up. The purpose of guns (handguns in particular) is to kill people. The purpose of alcohol is not to kill people. Neither is that the purpose of cars. But an unfortunate side effect is that drunk driving happens. People also drown in swimming pools and overdose on pain killers and meet myriad other tragic ends. The difference with guns is why they exist. They exist to kill. Perhaps you are right that these sorts of people could build a bomb out of household chemicals. But the amount of chemistry and planning involved likely significantly reduces the number people willing to go to that sort of trouble. Crimes of impulse and passion are not carried out by bomb.

I’m sorry that your hobby – something you value and enjoy and which hold particular sentimental value to you based on the relationships that are tied to it – is, as you say, being given a bad name by horrible, irresponsible people. Nevertheless, I hold my position. It is your hobby, not your life. I still believe that anyone’s life is more important than anyone’s hobby.

Thanks again for your comment, and for reading.

You state, “But I also think that it’s unfair for movie-goers, school children, and college students to risk death just because some people believe that their right to guns trumps other people’s right to life. No person’s hobby is more important than another person’s life.”-This same thing could be said for victims of drunk driving accidents. Should we ban alcohol in the United States just because some people get hurt and killed? Because a few people in this country are severely inappropriate with guns, no one should be allowed to have them? This world is a painful and unsafe place. You take away the guns and don’t you think the kind of people who shoot up movie theaters and college campuses are just as likely to choose a different weapon, perhaps building a bomb out of whatever we keep under our kitchen sinks?

I agree when you say that we need to figure out the motive behind these tragedies. We need to prevent them in the future, because you are right movie goes, school children, and college students shouldn’t have to fear for their lives. It infuriates me when something like this happens, it gives guns a bad name. I have shooting for quite some time now and it is not an easy world for a casual gun owner to live. I shoot clay targets for fun with my shotgun and yet because I live in the state of Illinois, I have to have special identification to purchase ammunition. I keep my gun religiously locked in a safe because if someone were to steal my gun and harm someone else with it, I would be held responsible. My dad taught me how to shoot, without it, I don’t know if our relationship would be as strong as it is today. My husband and I met on our college trap and skeet team.

Yes, it is a gross oversimplification, but without a person behind it to pull the trigger, a gun is just a cold hunk of metal. Anything can become a weapon if people are determined enough.

Whew, your longest post and certainly my longest comment:) Thanks for posting something real to chew on.

To me, the entire NRA lobby is a bit scary, and yes you’re probably right, getting any meaningful reform is not likely in the cards. But, as with many issues, this one gets politicized to such a degree that right and wrong are less the issue than who says what. It becomes a Republican vs. Democrat and conservative vs. liberal argument. Crime is bad. Shooting people on the streets is bad. And finding the solution, regardless of which party gets the credit, is not the issue. It is a problem that supersedes the political overtones.

Thanks for your gutsy and thought provoking comments.

I believe that guns can and should be regulated. Certain types of guns, magazine clips and even bullets should be certainly banned. And, I’m open to a national tracking database to flag those people, like Holms, who might be buying too much too fast. (This last one does make me nervous — I don’t completely trust our government and certainly not all local police departments….perhaps we need some HIPPA-like privacy guards in place so only those buying too much are personally identified). I hope those smarter than me about the specifics can somehow unite to form – outside of the NRA – a balanced and (dare I say) mainstream view of the issues.

Lastly, I’m alarmed that support for gun control is waning. How can we not care enough about the lives of ourselves and others to engage in this important debate?