My dad was a WWII veteran and when he came back from the war, he brought all his equipment and some German's equipment with him, including an arsenal of guns. My city breed Dad was an original hippy and when my brother and I were teens, he merrily moved us kids and my mom from Chicago to a farm in the Appalachian edge of Ohio in Clermont County. I swear, the stories about Oliver on the old t.v. show Green Acres were written about my Dad.
Watch this episode on Green Acres, The City Kids, and you will see my Dad. Don't think my Mom was like Lisa 'cause my Dad was like Oliver. Mom quickly figured out that she wasn't the original hippy; she was the original women's libber. She went to college, got two bachelors and one master's degree. Brother Butch ended up running the farm. Those of you reading this from Clermont County, Ohio can probably see your neighbors in this.
As kids, my brother Butch and I would take out his guns and shoot them. Being a women's libber, my Mom made me do everything Butch would do; and better. My Dad, being John Wayne, didn't let Butch do girl stuff. Yes, it was a very interesting family.
What does Green Acres have to do with gun safety? On the farm with lots of places to shoot and the two semi adults of the family, Mom and Dad, were off doing their own thing, Butch and I had plenty of time to terrorize bottles, cans, and trees with Dad's guns. A big shotgun made me spend a lot of time on my ass. No one ever mentioned gun safety. But that was one of the least dangerous activities Dad got us into, so Butch and I were use to making sure we knew what we were doing and always, always had an exit plan.
As I become more involved in gun sports, one thing is getting perfectly clear: we need a qualifying procedure to insure people operating guns are safe operators. Some people in the range scare me; even those taking concealed carry classes.
A safety course or some type of qualifier will not restrict a person from owning whatever and how many guns they want to own.
Yes, I understand the importance and significance of anyone being allowed to purchase guns without government interference. It is a constitutional right. I get that.
We require drivers licenses, scuba certifications, truck licenses, motorcycle licenses, pilots licenses, etc. The licenses are to be sure that folks operating potential dangerous equipment are trained and competent. We have lots of data to show that these qualifiers make safe habits.
Concealed carry licenses in some states can be as little as a four hour lecture on laws and a point and shoot. That does not make me feel confident that a person is qualified to handle a gun safely.
To prevent Green Acres - haphazard kids shooting, qualify yourself and take a gun safety course. Jon, my son who lives in Clermont County Ohio, is a CCW trainer and a very good one. He teaches about gun safety. So does MetalXWorks in Cambridge, Ohio. Here in the Rio Grande Valley, the RGV Shooters is having a gun safety class on April 28. Please register, have some fun and get great gun safety habits.
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