It is extremely difficult to begin when the words I am going to use feel like the most important words I will ever say. I have debated how to write this article, whether to write it at all, but if I can change the outlook of just one person then the personal anguish will be worthwhile. I feel an overwhelming responsibly to stand up for something I believe in with my whole being.

As a little girl, I felt I needed to be someone “important”. In my mind that could have been a judge, or something equally as prestigious because to me they were smart, and I knew I was smart. And then for the past few years I began to function as “just me”. On my own I have started, expanded and successfully operated multiple businesses, just me. So just me is going to be important in my own way right now and address some realities that some people aren’t going to like and that I just cannot live with myself not to talk about. 

If I could accomplish only one thing over my entire life it would be to get as many people as possible to understand just one simple fact: no firearm in history has ever shot anyone-EVER! I hope that anyone opposing this fact will think about it long and hard before disagreeing with me. 

In every single instance where a firearm has caused harm there was another factor, usually a human, that was the true cause. I have hundreds of firearms in a rack and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition. When I lock the door at night they don’t do anything bad all on their own. I also own multiple vehicles, and they’re exactly the same. When I park them at night they don’t do anything bad all on their own either. But please think of how many people you know who have been injured in a vehicle accident-that’s a lot, myself included. Do you know someone who has died as a result of a vehicle accident? Both firearms and vehicles are regulated and require licensing to own/operate. Why is it that vehicles are harmless but firearms are guilty? Now, on the flip side, do I agree that licensing requirement are necessary? Absolutely. I do not dispute the fact that some people definitely should not use a firearm and there must be regulations in regards to their use.

I respect the fact that some people do not wish to own or use a firearm, that is a choice that is theirs to make but that should not affect my choice to own one. For me, the main reason I own a firearm is that is how I feed my family. It may appear to some that I have a lot, well there have been times that I didn’t. Meat at a grocery store is expensive, I was only able to feed my family many years by harvesting my own food. My second reason is that it is a huge part of my heritage. If I look up both sides of my family tree my family were hunters and shooters and I wish to continue that though all of my family’s future generations. I can only hope that my children will learn the same love of a pastime that teaches them safety, skill, and the utmost in respect rather than the other options that they have to occupy their time. 

Should law-abiding citizens be punished by those who are not? The answer is no. Vehicles are not at risk for being banned despite the fact that they are involved in more deaths than firearms exponentially (please research the statistics for yourself). What if the money being spent on the ban of inanimate objects which are being portrayed as the guilty culprits and law-abiding citizens was, instead, spent punishing those who intentionally used them illegally and addressing the factors which cause firearms to be used for harm. Would that not make more sense? Current laws are not stopping those who obtain firearms through illegal channels and use firearms for illegal purposes so I would really like someone to tell me how banning firearms (whether it be certain classifications or a complete ban) is going to help when they don't follow the current laws. This is only going to affect those who follow the laws and are doing nothing wrong at all.

I know I am not the only one with this overwhelming gut desire to communicate this important fact but I am one of few with the ability and confidence to do so. I do not usually involve myself with politics nor do I try to push my own beliefs on others. What I know is that I am more scared not to write this article than I am to have it published. I feel helpless that others will be dictating to me what I can and cannot do based on fear, misinformation, personal gain in the form of political support and overall brainwashing. I am still just me writing this article and I don’t expect to convince anyone of the benefits of firearms just by reading it. I only hope that I can put one or two bits of information into their minds to get people to start to think and research on their own. If you don’t know the truth spend a moment and look up what has happened in the past in countries after firearms have been banned. That’s what you truly need to be afraid of.