It’s interesting to note the change in perception of the gun
over time.
During the early years of
this country the gun was viewed as an absolute necessity by those who used it
for their very survival. Daniel Boone, The Minuteman and the Pioneer. Whether it was
to kill wild game to feed yourself and family, to defend against hostile two or four-legged threats, or to defend property and country. The gun was there.
During the later years when the country was more “civilized”,
our entertainment often featured the gun as a tool to defend the innocent and
defeat those who would prey upon them. The
Lone Range, Captain America, the Rifleman and many other heroes from 50 years
ago carried and used guns to fight crime and evil and to protect innocent
people as well as the American way of life. The gun was there.
During these golden years of the Greatest Generation, many high
schools and colleges had rifle and pistol teams that competed locally,
state-wide, nationally and even internationally. Back then, a young teenager walking down the
street with a shotgun or rifle over their shoulder was nothing to which anyone would
feel threatened. The gun was there.
Unfortunately today, mostly due to the unjust and undeserved
vilification by the media and elitist politicians, the image of the gun and of gun
owners has moved away from this positive role.
Now the image of guns and their owners have been flipped 180 degrees and
become synonymous crime and evil, the very things just a few decades ago they were
used to fight.
In his seminar entitled “Sheepdogs! The Bulletproof Mind for the Armed Citizen”, Lt.
Col. (Ret) Dave Grossman reminds us that the term “Shooter” has been used by the
media, the elitists, the police and even us gun owners to be synonymous with the
word “Murderer”. IE: Active Shooter,
School Shooter, Workplace Shooter, etc.
An active shooter was once someone who is on the range
actively shooting. A school shooter was
once a member of an academic shooting team.
A workplace shooter was once someone lucky enough to work someplace with
its own range! These terms have been
hijacked by the anti-gun crowed, and we allowed it to happen.
In an article in NUVO (of all places) Indianapolis 2nd
Amendment attorney and gun instructor Guy Relford made a very good point that
we must be aware of because it says a lot about the battle we are fighting and
about ourselves. Relford said, “…you've
got several million law-abiding gun owners who've never committed a crime…are
being treated like we're the cause of crazy people hurting others…and that
we're now being punished for the crimes of other people when we've never
committed a crime. ...law-abiding, sane, responsible gun owners get lumped in
with criminals and psychopaths, and there's a very deep offense that's taken
from that because we feel that we're the ones who'll stand up to defend our
families and our country."
The words we use, the image we portray of the gun and gun
owners needs to change back to what it was during the era of the Lone Range and
of Captain America.
I am not a murderer.
I am not a criminal. I AM A
SHOOTER. This is not evil. This is nothing to be ashamed of. We MUST reclaim the image of the shooter and
of the gun as fighters of evil and protectors of the innocent.
We must all do our part to educate our family and friends
about the difference between a shooter and a murderer. Invite a friend, a family member a co-worker
or anyone else to come with you to the range and try your .22 handgun or rifle.
The only way we can do this is to educate those around us in
a Grassroots way and it starts with each individual shooter. Let's get to work so that the gun will always be there.
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