My mind has changed about guns!

Okay, some things have changed since I last wrote anything about guns.  Specifically, but not limited to: Sandyhook and Aurora.  Before these two incidents I was wavering about my personal need to own a gun.  At the time I came to the conclusion that the reason I did not want a gun was because I just couldn't see the end game.  I could not conceive the idea that I would have to shoot someone to protect what was mine or who I cared about and the eventual escalation of firepower would result in one king and lots of bodies.

That has changed. 

James Holmes (Aurora Theater shooter) and Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook) had many things in common, not the least of which they were both paranoid schizophrenics. This means they both had a mental disease that made them.....let's just say crazy.  Of course let us not forget they also both used semiautomatic weapons to kill lots of innocent people.  The wake of these two incidents has emboldened the proponents for both more and less gun control.

It is easy to understand why some people would line up to get rid of as many guns as possible: Guns are designed and manufactured to kill.  I find it much more difficult to wrap my head around why these events would make anyone feel we needed less restrictions on guns.  True, if every administrator at the Sandy Hook school and every patron of the Aurora Theater was packing a weapon these events may not have been as tragic.  Surely if the sheer knowledge that everyone was caring their own personal protection wasn't enough to intimidate these two madmen from their quests, then as soon as they started shooting someone (presumably a good marksman, trained to use the adrenalin coursing though their bodies to react with measured restraint and accuracy) would have stopped them in their tracks and fewer people possibly would have been killed and injured. So is that the sensible answer?  Should everyone carry a gun at all times? Is that really what the writers of the Constitution had in mind: that everyone should carry a handgun, own an (or lots of) assault rifle and have enough ammo on hand to kill thousands of deer (or people)?

The utter irrationality of this makes me wonder............why do people like guns so much that they will cloud their minds to the point of such absurdity?  I've read everything from "it is part of our culture" to "when someone threatens to take something away it becomes more valuable".  There are a million reasons given to the question.  The most popular is for personal protection.  So most gun owners are paranoid.  They want to be ready for the bad guy that will eventually be coming to get them, their family or their stuff.  Very few gun enthusiasts; however, will admit that they like the idea of killing someone. After all: killing is wrong...........right?

I was taught from an early age:  two wrongs never make a right, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, thou shalt not kill, turn the other cheek, it takes a bigger man to walk away from a fight than to fight one, and sticks and stone may break your bones but names can never hurt me. These are the things that morality is based on.  So in order to sidestep the immorality of killing (a bad guy), there must be something else that makes some people love owning and shooting lots of guns.  Perhaps it has to do with something as simple and basic as pushing a button or pulling a trigger  here and making something happen over there.   The first time a powederman pushes a plunger he gets a big thrill blowing up something a mile away.  After he does it enough the rush is gone. It becomes routine.  Isn't it the same with guns?  Does the initial thrill of pulling a trigger and making a bottle explode or a can jump at 30 yards wear off with repetition?  Does the childhood owner of a Daisy BB air rifle need to get a .22, then a 12 gauge, then an AR-15 then two or three more?   Are guns just another opiate of the masses?  

People who fear the government will take their guns, take over their lives, and make everyone subservient to a dictatorial leadership are simply paranoid.  When paranoia and addiction are combined, mental stability cannot be maintained for long.  

I don't and will not own a gun because I am not crazy.  I'm not saying that everyone who owns a gun is crazy but with the morals and convictions I believe in:  I would have to be crazy to to believe that shooting someone and having those convictions can coexist.