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In reply to the discussion: Woman In Starbucks Drops Purse With Forgotten Gun, Shoots Friend In The Leg: St. Pete Police [View all]quakerboy
(13,901 posts)I get that you dont get my point. Im glad you agree that there should be some sort of entry level proof of responsibility to own a gun. That would be a good thing, and i think one the people would overall support in the end. Not that they are likely to get that opportunity anytime soon.
My point, slightly differently:
We restrict many things. There is a presumption that you need some level of training and knowledge to drive a car. cook food for the public. Work as a notary. But there is no presumption that you need any training, knowledge, or experience to own a gun.
And so things like this happen. Guns are casual toys that can be kept in a purse without a second thought, like a nail file or a pack of gum, just in case. And all gun owners are responsible gun owners. Right up till they are not. And then, they never were.
But right up until/unless you prove you are not a responsible gun owner, you are. As far as any legal or social standard is concerned.
But based on my personal experience, many gun owners are not nearly so "responsible" as we are lead to believe. They just never have that unlucky, dropped the bag on the floor and shot my friend in the leg" moment that proves it.
And even if they do, as far as they are concerned, it was just a one time mistake(oops shot my own finger off, in the case of one acquaintance), not really reflective of their normal responsible gun ownership status. And so, gun owners are responsible. Except for the few that get caught and cant quite rationalize it away acceptably. And those ones were never responsible in the first place, so they shouldn't be considered to reflect on the rest of the responsible gun owners.
Or to spell it out further:
The delineation between "responsible" and "not responsible" gun owners is largely fiction. It is as much a matter of perception, and of getting caught, as it is a difference between actual responsible handling and storage of weaponry. Its a myth, and a well built one at that. Because as soon as anyone transgresses that line, they never were one of the "good guys with a gun", they were always irresponsible. And so the good guys with guns remain unsullied, no matter how many of them turn out to have been lazy morons with loaded guns in their purses, glove boxes, etc.