John Kitsco

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Obviously, for many farmers, hunters, ranchers, police, people in
the military - guns are important.With the FBI and other local
police doing millions of background checks - its obvious that guns
are here to stay. But of course, bad boys on the street steal and
trade, pawn and sell weapons.

As kids growing up, it was common to drive or bicycle out to the
local gravel pit and target practice with a few cans or bottles or
hand drawn bulls-eye target. Perhaps adults continue this type
of activity by going to the shooting range these days.

No matter. My gun is long gone. It hung on the wall in a gun
rack for many years, unused, as I am not a hunter and only
acquired it to display. Taking note it was not being used and
a nudge from my wife - and it was sold to a hunter, actually
an Inuit hunter, to use to shoot caribou.

These days we read about kids, yes kids, who carry major
weapons and even show them off to friends.  Assault rifles.
Semi-automatic weapons. This is the new era and its scary...

The idea someone presented - that being, if a responsible
person had been close at hand during the Tuscon rampage
perhaps they could have helped.  The other side of the coin,
perhaps they would have been shot - someone thinking they
were the culprit?!  So perhaps the best hope is that police or
security be the ones to control the outcome. 

However, timing being of essence - there is no guarantee that
any of us is truly safe, as long as there are weapons that find
their way into the wrong hands.