Do you know anyone who has been shot?

[ghostsinthemachine]

37. I've been a gun crime victim many times

I've been a victim of gun crime quite a few times. Not once would having a gun have helped me. I would have taken a life, probably my Father's, or a guy who robbed me, with a gun. The only way it could have helped was if I had it, in my hand, loaded and cocked at the time of the incident. But, I might have taken a life. What was a horrible situation would have been unbearable. As it was, my life got turned Topsy turvy, divorce, losing everything, court cases, testimony, due to gun crime. 27 shots, fired by illegal, and legal, guns in my Fair Oaks CA neighborhood. Nobody got hurt, nobody went to jail. (Everyone should have). Guy put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed. Luckily I didn't die. But my life totally changed.

I got my first gun at 10. A Ted Williams, bolt action 22, bought at a hardware store in Chico CA. Gun safety was drilled into me and others who went camping with us. Camping was the only place we ever even saw the gun(s). After a while bigger guns entered the camping experience. We had a spot that allowed us to shoot freely, no other people, a bank across the creek. Sometimes, we would strap our rifles on our dirt bikes and ride to "Lead Hill" and shoot. A scad of us kids. Great safe place known for being full of lead due to everyone going there to Target shoot.
As an adult, I was once a gun owner, I especially loved black powder (no rash decisions with powder weapons), but my temper scared me, and I got rid of my guns. My Dad kept his, and every time he got mad, out the guns would come. Or the threat. Me, my kids, my brother, you name it, at least the threat was ever present. I was 14 the first time. Over an odd entry in my checkbook. So many times, I have no clear recollection of one specific event. I have "the dream" once a month. As he aged, he refused to be diagnosed for Alzheimer's or Dementia, so he could continue to get guns. (We would remove boxes full from his house a couple times a year, after threatening my Mom, our families etc). He would buy them legally, or at the casino where he played cards. We'd take em from him, a a week later he would call, tell us he was going to kill my Mom, us and himself. This went on for decades.

Most people who own guns, and by most, I mean all, couldn't shoot them to save their lives (pun totally intended). When involved in life and death gun situations, the adreneline rush is so great that there is absolutely NO FUCKING CHANCE they would hit their targets. Few go to ranges even to shoot. Big difference between target shooting and life or death. And even fewer are trained for that situation. Couple that with responsible gun ownership, no way. In a safe? Locked? In the dresser? No, in that case, it happens far too fast for you to get to your weapon, load it to have any affect.

Guns are also the number one reason for in home burglaries. Easy to sell, high value, and easily hidden. Yep, want to invite burglars? Tell em you have guns. The bars, or fortress like stores of the gun sellers tells you how dangerous it is to have guns anywhere.
My friend, Bulldog, who was ex marine, kickboxer and all around tough son of bitch, killed two people breaking into his house. Everywhere he went he was a hero. Yeah way to go. Bulldog (so named because he had a tattoo of a bulldog covering his entire bald head) would tell me how fucked it really was. The guy changed completely. "It's only stuff they were after". "What if I gave them everything, including my guns" he would ask. H couldn't live with himself and on the one year anniversary, killed himself over "stuff".