Gun Rights and Gun Control

Guns sales have spiked considerably since the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School last week in Newtown, Connecticut. This is not surprising; gun sales have been considerable since the election of President Barack Obama in 2008. Many will see the tragedy, as they did Obama's election, as an excuse by gun control advocates to limit the availability of firearms in the United States.

No doubt that both events have and will serve that purpose to the left. But we do have to believe that gun rights advocates aren't helping their cause with what appears to be panic buying. It is something which may only cause quicker and deeper actions against firearms.

We are not bleeding hearts by any stretch of the imagination. Nor are we soft conservatives who don't believe in the Second Amendment. Still, the idea that we have to be armed seems a stretch of the imagination. Yes, guns are used for self protection by the civilized citizenry far more than for wanton violence. Yes, we have the right to be armed for protection even against government, should the need arise.

But do we need to appear as though we must be armed to the teeth in order to be safe either? How often have gun owners actually needed their guns for rational purposes? Yes, again, we accept the argument that criminals will become more bold with less chance that a homeowner has a gun in his house, or that the next target will not have a concealed weapon. We get it.

That doesn't mean that we should play into the hands of our adversaries. Especially, be fair, with the realization that direct personal attacks on law abiding citizens are rare and random. Why not sit a spell, take a breath, and at least see how things play out in the gun control arena before rushing out and loading up on weapons and ammunition? As it is, it makes the gun rights lobby look like exactly what it says it's not: a rabble ready to shoot first and ask questions later.

We know that isn't true. But we harm rather help our cause to even appear that way. It's just something to think about before reacting in any manner which may be construed as knee jerk. The liberal knee jerks will only take advantage of us.