On Guns...

If you don't already know, I am a fervent advocate of the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights. You know, the one that recognizes your and my right to protect ourselves. Or, alternatively, for those on the left with a statist bent, the ONLY amendment in the Bill of Rights which does NOT apply to The People, but to the state.
I say recognize, not grant. The Constitution does not grant rights to The People; it recognizes that The People have inalienable rights.
Anyway, we can get into Constitutional discussions later; what I want to talk about right now is:

WhyI own a gun.

I'm not an especially loquacious person; I tend to throw out the gist of my thoughts in a few sentences tops, so this won't be a particularly long post (though it might be for me).

A man buys a car. A responsible man buys a car and insures it. "Good job", we say; "he's protecting his investment and insuring his ability to pay out if he incurs any damage."

A responsible homeowner buys insurance for his house and everything in it. "Good job", we say; "he's protecting his accumulated wealth in case of fire, or other disaster".

A responsible parent buys life insurance. "Good job", we say; "he's providing for his family if anything unfortunate happens to him".

In all these cases, you expect a responsible person to insure themselves; to do otherwise would be foolish and costly. We buy these forms of insurance hoping, praying that we'll never have to use them, but covering ourselves if in fact, the worst does happen. And you know what? Sometimes it does.

I enjoy collecting, using and maintaining firearms, but at the end of the day, what they are to me is insurance, just like I mentioned above.

Let's call it "Life And Liberty" Insurance, for lack of a better phrase.
I'm insuring myself and my family against that awful possibility that some scumbag might kick in my door and try to harm my wife and kids. I'm insuring that my country stays free and unoppressed by brutal dictators, the likes of which we see in plenty of places around the world, even in today's "enlightened" times.
I have these forms of insurance, just like the ones above, hoping and praying that I never have to use them.

Do people call me responsible for having this kind of insurance?
Some do; others, not so much...
Too often one hears the words "Survivalist", "Wild-eyed paranoid" or "Right-wing extremist".
Too often I hear that I'm "some sort of vigilante nutcase just waiting for the opportunity to blow some perp away".
I'm sure some do, just like some would like to collect the fire insurance on their failed business. I don't believe that they are the majority, however.
I no more want to have to kill someone than I want to see my house burn down or my car smashed up, but I insure myself against that eventuality all the same.
In my opinion, it is being responsible. Because I am responsible for the lives of myself and my family. No-one else is; not the State, not the Federal Govt, not the cops; ME.