Jeremy Janes writes:
In an earlier exchange, however, you congratulated another correspondent for her willingness to acknowledge that fear of guns is "irrational." Well, guns scare me, too, and I don't find anything in the least irrational about that.
same kind of irrationality people have about flying. you're far more likely to get in a fatal car accident than a plane crash. more likely to get raped by a family member, friend, acquaintance than some stranger springing from dark alley. guns are scary. they are dangerous. they do kill. but why don't you ask yourself who you think is holding that gun. btw, in NY you can't even carry a loaded handgun in your car if you have an FFL, federal firearms license. memory's a little hazy on that one, though.
and i had a lot easier time getting a permit to carry than my ex husband did. but i don't ever remember carrying handguns except to do some target practice out on state land.
the guys who scared me were the upper middle class white buoys with an arsenal, who'd watched Red Dawn too many times and were gearing up for the commies. i'm *NOT* kidding about that one.
not saying that it doesn't happen, but i've only ever seen two people drinking while hunting. and i worked in diners for a long time and served a 100s of hunters their eggs and toast just before they headed off to try and get themselves a buck. i'm fairly certain every single one was sober.
the biggest problem i've ever encountered was assholes from the city heading for the hills so they could go hunting. now they didn't know what they were doing. out of their element, you see. rural legends of the idiots who shoot at cows and lawn ornaments. well, anyone who has lawn ornaments ought to get shot at, if you ask me.
jordy, i don't have the patience to look up these stats. but could you pass along the info. i recall that you had some good research links last year and a couple of decent articles. still have them?
all of this reminds me of a book i leafed through a year ago or so, something about the culture of fear in the US. this incessant fear about all sorts of potential harms that one can encounter--some cultural obsessive compulsive disorder i swear--and the answer is more rules, more regulations, more laws.
kelley