A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.
Shane (1953)
Every death at the barrel of a gun is a tragedy. Whether an innocent victim is killed by a criminal, or that criminal is stopped by a law abiding citizen, or a group of gang bangers end up shooting each other, the resulting death could have been avoided, if one goes back far enough in the process.
One of the chief failings of the anti-gun crowd is their refusal to assign responsibility in this tragedy to those who are to blame. They choose to believe that, somehow, the gun - the tool - was at fault, and if all guns were eliminated, then the tragedies would cease.
Make no mistake, they will speak of "easy guns" or "illegal guns" or "assault weapons with high capacity clips and a shoulder thing that goes up," but what they really mean is all guns. Even the recent history of gun control in countries like England and Australia shows that.
Every time I read an anti-gun diatribe, I am tempted to write about it, and cite the truth - that the vast majority of gun deaths are due to criminals. You don't know how many draft posts I have saved, that are in this vein.
I forget exactly what I was reading today, but it was the same tired claim that "gun violence" could somehow be solved by more gun regulation. All I know is it got me to sounding and acting like Lewis Black - cussing and jabbing my fingers at the screen.
Fortunately, the next blog I read calmed me down. And for that reason, in matters related to who and what is to blame for "gun violence," I humbly yield the floor to Sean Sorrentino.
Many gun bloggers, like myself, choose to remain somewhat anonymous. For me, it's because my side passion might interfere in other areas of my business life, where, frankly, it should have no bearing at all.
When you meet Sean, though, he will be wearing a badge in the shape of the state of North Carolina, that says his name, and under that, An NC Gun Blog.
Sean deals frequently with legislators, anti-gunners, and pro-gun people alike, and, as he told me, he wants them to know where he stands.
I salute Sean not only for his forthrightness, but for his blog. The subject of his blog, more often than not, is to show you who the perpetrators of gun crime in North Carolina are, and what they have been up to all their life.
Sean tells you about the criminals and their records in a very civil manner. He doesn't name names, he doesn't throw stones. He just shows you the truth.
As a quasi-aside, Sean doesn't just write about guns, he shoots very well, too. He was my training partner in Knoxville earlier in the year.
So, in lieu of ranting, in the future, I will just point to An NC Gun Blog. Sean says it better than I can.
