My position about gun control are probably about as convoluted as my position on euthanasia. However, unlike the other issues we've discussed, my position on this issue is different from what it used to be.

Again, at the very basic level, I feel that humanity should not be in charge of life or death decisions regarding themselves, especially when it comes to determining the life or death of someone other than oneself. On the other hand, if a person feels they wish to end their life on their own terms, then a lot of me thinks that should be their decision. I know it still sounds like I'm talking about euthanasia, but bear with me for a moment.

It used to be that I was almost completely opposed to guns- not only because I hate the way they sound and it scares me ****less to hear one go off, but because I felt that it was wrong to give one person life or death control over another, even in situations where a criminal was putting someone else's life in danger and someone with a gun killed the intruder out of self defense. Like the death penalty, also, I at least somewhat felt that if someone were to try and kill one of my family members and killed me in the process of me trying to protect them, that I should not necessarily strive to even out the situation because life and death decisions over another human life are not something that should be placed in anyone's hands, criminal or no. Additionally, a lot of me felt that even simple ownership of a gun for self defense purposes, while not illegal or unconstitutional by any means, was a little disconcerting and difficult to distinguish the difference between a gun owned by a law abiding citizen for self defense and a gun being in the hands of a criminal, as a gun is still a gun.

As I've thought about it, however, I've come to realize that the presence of guns in the hands of law abiding, responsible citizens in *times of crisis only* is, I guess you could say, a necessary evil. If for example, someone carrying a concealed weapon were able to kill the gunman at Va Tech before he went too far on his rampage, yes his life would be lost and put into the hands of another human, but dozens of other innocent lives might be saved.

If more people are trained to carry and yield a gun properly, then the risk of a criminal being able to get his or her way is lessened significantly, even if it is no more difficult for a gun to be in the hands of a criminal than a law abiding citizen. It is the principle of mutually assured destruction- if everyone has the potential to own and carry a gun, hopefully no one will use it on another. I do think, however, that proper handling and training of guns is critical before they are given to anyone, and no matter what children must be safeguarded from any guns in the home. I'm not opposed to having one in the house for self defense as I used to be, but I definitely feel they should be locked away where children could not possibly get to them, ever.

This leads me to a separate but related issue- guns being used for hunting and/or sport. Basically I feel that hunting on its own is not necessarily bad, but if one is to hunt then they should at least hunt with the intent to eat what they have killed and use it to provide for their family, as opposed to just killing animals for the hell of it. As I was telling Klinkman, we do not live in a society that requires hunting to obtain food anymore, but I see nothing wrong with consuming what you have hunted as a meal, like deer meat or the like. Killing animals for a sport without intending to use them for at least partially a practical purpose is, in my opinion, wrong.