My 12-year-old nephew was killed by a gun... [View All]

[cynatnite]

It was an accidental shooting. He and his friend got a hold of a hand gun. Elliot was killed by it. This happened over 20 years ago.

I can't tell you the hell everyone went through over it. There was a lot of anger. The gun belonged to his friend's father.

If it had a trigger lock, Elliot might be alive today. If the father had responsibly put the ammo away separately from the weapon, Elliot could be alive. It could also be that none of this would have mattered either. Elliot and his friend could have found a way around all of that and the accident would have happened anyway.

I spent time in the Army learning about weapons. My husband was an avid hunter before his health problems. I have a rifle at the top of the closet that my Dad gave me before he died. I have seen the damage that gun violence can do when I worked in the ER. I have shot black powder rifles and hand guns as a hobby. Friends and I used to go skeet shooting when I was stationed in Germany. This is the extent of my experience with guns.

These are my conclusions about the issue...

Taking away guns is not an option.
Arming the populace is not an option.

Common sense gun control seems to be an option, but it's too difficult to find consensus on such a devisive issue.

People will let go of their obsession with owning a gun when they realize that the 2nd amendment is not the end all and be all of being an American. I don't see that changing in the next two lifetimes...if at all.