I’m not a gun owner but I have bird-hunted on two occasions with friends (both men and women). While it’s not something I desire to do with regularity, I can appreciate the sporting appeal for some.
My issue isn’t with guns generally. My issue is with the gun lobby that prevents us from having meaningful discussion about guns – how they’re used, who can own them, and how they’re regulated. Like so many well-funded and consequently powerful lobbies, the gun lobby has successfully but dishonestly twisted the debate into a zero-sum game.
Opinions on this topic don’t require an oversimplified pro-gun or anti-gun approach. There’s common ground here that exists between long-time gun owners, people like myself who’ve hunted on occasion, and even those who never have and never will shoot a gun.
Let’s show the gun lobby we’re smarter than they think we are. Let’s have a real debate. Not about whether or not we have guns at all – that’s not the real dispute. Let’s talk about common sense action that will make us all, users and non-users alike, safer.
Christopher Knight
Concord