Owning a Handgun

I’ve never owned a handgun, but throughout my life, I’ve often thought that I would like to. I grew up around rifles and shotguns, as my dad and brothers were ardent hunters and skeet shooters. The guns were kept in a closet right off the living room, and I remember one instance when my brother confronted a window-peeker/prowler with one of them. It made a big impression as I recall.

Now the same sort of weirdos among us are called stalkers. Which brings me to a story about the sister of a friend of mine. She lived alone and had a fenced yard. Unfortunately there was a weirdo who lived in her neighborhood who would climb over her fence and look in her windows. Police and security systems did not deter him. So, she took classes, did target practice, and bought herself a lovely pink handgun. The next time she saw him climbing over her fence, she fired at the ground in front of his feet and yelled that the next one wouldn’t miss him. After 2 years of fear, it came to an abrupt stop.

So, what about hand guns? We never had them in our house, but when I was in my 30’s and living in Detroit and driving all over the city regularly, people started suggesting that maybe I should buy a gun. I was – and still am – proud of the fact that I lived in and loved a big, dirty, dangerous city, and made the most of what it had to offer. I have only fond memories of my years there, zipping around in my black firebird and feeling so fearless. I know, I know, I was lucky. The worst that ever happened was an attempt to steal my mag wheels. (They were locked, and the dirtball was unsuccessful.)

My three closest female friends all own hand guns and know how to use them. They’ve done the classes and target practice. So, of course I think maybe I should have one too now. Problem is, my significant other it strongly against it, and if I needed to take it out of my car for some reason, I know I couldn’t bring it into the house.

Our generation grew up playing cops and robbers and cowboys and Indians with toy guns, and no one thought a thing of it. A male friend told me that a BB gun under the Christmas tree was every little boys dream in his time. Then of course he graduated to an air rifle or pellet gun. Small animals were not safe anywhere in the 50’s it would seem. Though it’s now politically incorrect to buy toy guns for the younguns, they can shoot and kill anything they want with the video games that are now popular. I would be very interested to hear from readers how they feel about their kids and grandkids playing these games, since I’m out of that loop, having none of my own.

Yesterday I decided to do a little research, and went to a pawn shop in Cape Coral just to see what handguns cost and what I would have to do to own one. A very nice guy named Don showed me their selection and explained what might be the best use of each one. They ranged in price from just under $200 for a .22 caliber to as much as $700 for the more sophisticated.

To purchase one, I would have to first pay for it, and then they would run a background check with the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement, and after a 3-day waiting period, the weapon would be mine.

Somewhere I had read that this process was more simple in Texas, so I called my gun owner friend Jerry who lives in Lubbock to get the inside story.

Jerry owns 3 handguns, and tells me that he walked into Cabellas and other gun shops, and after an instant background check, walked out with his purchases. The entire process took less than a half hour.

Jerry’s gun ownership is a fairly recent phenomenon. It sprang from the road rage he had observed in his trips to San Antonio. Knowing that most of his fellow Texans were armed, he felt he needed a level playing field. He went the extra mile and took the classes to obtain a concealed weapon permit. He sometimes carries his handgun in a holster under his jacket.

As an aside, Jerry told me that a few days ago while in a gun shop to buy ammunition, he learned that the AR15 semi-automatic rifle has recently tripled in price, and that shop owners had long waiting lists for any new arrivals.

As you can see, my jury is still out on all of this as I try to inform myself about every detail of gun controversy. But, I had WINK news on as I typed that sentence, and learned that an area man will be charged in the accidental death of his toddler who shot himself while playing with a loaded handgun. Coincidence?

#   #   #