Courage v. Cowardice

[spin]

30. Does a hobby qualify as a fetish? ...

I don't consider the insinuation insulting in the least The comment did lead me to some consideration of just how important firearms are to my life.

I have enjoyed target shooting handguns for over 40 years and consequently have accumulated a small collection of these weapons over the years.

It is common for a person who has a dislike of firearms and those who own such items to assume that many gun owners sit around watching violent movies as they clean and fondle their favorite pistol or revolver. Perhaps some do, but the majority of my handguns stay locked away in the safe unless I take one to the range. I may wipe the others down yearly with a silicone cloth. I do handle the handguns I carry more frequently but only to drop them into my pocket on the way out the door or to put them back in the safe when I return.

You might imagine that I spend a good part of my time watching programs on firearms, and reading books on the subject. I do occasionally watch a program on the history and development of firearms on the history channels but such programs are rare anymore.

I mainly listen to all three of the 24/7 news channels. My son in law who I live with would tell you that if I have a fetish it is for news. In fact, he considers my interest in current events and politics to be unhealthy and he might be right. I feel my son in law has a movie fetish. He will watch a movie he likes 20 to 100 times and knows every line of dialog. He assures me that he notices something different every time he watches a movie but I find this hard to believe. It's sometimes all to easy to accuse those whose interests or hobbies differ from yours as having a fetish.

Most gun owners who target shoot regularly or hunt, view their firearms as tools of their hobby much as a golfer views his golf clubs. I am more concerned with those who have no real need for a firearm but buy a powerful handgun or an assault style rifle and sit their in their living rooms watching violent movies and fantasizing on how lethal his new toy might be. That's somewhat like buying a set of golf clubs but never going to the golf course while you fantasize that you could beat Tiger Woods in a tournament.

I don't consider that I hold any moral or political high ground because I support the 2nd Amendment. Both sides of the gun control debate have excellent and valid points to make in their favor. In fact I wouldn't be surprised in the least if in several decades or many even less, legal gun ownership is limited to only law enforcement and the one percent. If I'm reading the tea leaves correctly we are on our way to living in a police state as we are losing many of the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights such as our rights to privacy. Police states are not fond of the civilian ownership of firearms for good reason.