Eight Great Reasons to Buy Guns (As If You Needed Them)

By Richard Klein

Two common mistakes that many pro-Second Amendment people make when talking about guns and anti-gun laws are 1) complaining (to fellow gun owners), or 2) preaching to the choir. So I pledge that I won’t do any complaining complain here and I won’t preach to you about why so ‘n so law is ridiculous. Instead, I want to share a few thoughts on guns that may help in taking on the forces that oppose the Second Amendment and everything it stands for. I buy guns for a variety of reasons and here are some of the reasons why . . .

GUNS ARE AN INVESTMENT

I buy guns because I view guns as an investment– a means of preserving wealth for a future need. Over the long haul, guns kept in good repair will appreciate in value, especially in the case of quality firearms. Moreover, as the anti-gun busybodies try to act to ban guns and related gear, the net effect is that the investment value inevitably increases.

They’re also an easily transported investment. I buy them because guns maintain value, an open, active market exists and that market isn’t “quoted.” The absence of a quoted market means that a skilled trader can turn a profit by making careful trades. I consider myself as a skilled trader, and hence I enjoy a commodity that isn’t quoted, as a quoted market takes all the fun out of swaps and trades.

Another plus is that they’re frequently bought and sold on a cash basis – as opposed to checks, credit cards, and other paper trails. Believers in guns and in the Second Amendment are a superstitious lot at best, and they don’t take lightly to leaving paper trails for governmental and regulatory snoops and busy bodies to sniff out.

GUNS ARE FUNCTIONAL

I buy guns because guns are tools that can be called upon to do a job. Tools are unique to mankind, as very few other creatures make and use them.

I buy guns because having guns permits me perform a public service. I can help in my own way by ridding the world of a stray coyote, a rabid dog and even deer that contribute, as silent killers, to the untold number of deer-vehicle accidents and resultant damages and even deaths.

I buy guns — and hone my skills with them — because a gun in hand is the fastest response to a violent threat to me or my family.

And I buy them because I enjoy hunting. Hunting serves as a touchstone or mechanism for me to tell that I’m still alive and able to function.

GUNS ARE AN ART FORM, SOMETHING WITH BEAUTY AND GRACE

I buy guns because guns represent – and are – works of art. In short, they are beautiful to look at.

I buy guns because they’re physical and geometric in nature, and stimulate the right side of my brain.

I buy guns because guns instill in me a sense of history. By holding a Model 1875 “Trapdoor” I can envision riding with Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders or General Custer. By holding a flintlock, I can dream of being alongside Daniel Boone. By holding an M-1 Garand, I become immersed in the history of WWII. By holding a single action army, I can envision being alongside Wyatt Earp.

GUNS ARE INHERENTLY TIED TO SPORTS AND PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

I buy guns because firearms, and the proper handling and marksmanship associated with them, represent a life sport. As a life sport, I can keep agile mentally and physically – even as my body ages. Contact “ball” games like football and such are strictly for the younger set.

I buy guns because they keep me thinking in an alert and “condition yellow” mode. This is in contrast to so many in our society who are best described as “fat and happy.” The “fat and happy” are often oblivious to the predators lurking among us in the shadows waiting for a ripe pigeon to stumble along. In short, I don’t consider myself an easy mark – and it’s my familiarity with guns and self-defense that hones my skills.

GUNS ARE INHERENTLY POLITICAL

I buy guns because guns allow me to make a political statement. There are two types of people in this world – those who believe in the worth and dignity of the common man and those who believe that man should be subservient to an elite. I believe in the former, and my ownership of guns is the embodiment of that belief.

I buy guns because doing so makes my life easier and less complex. As an illustration, I own and drive several heavy vehicles, one being a 15-passenger van.  In short, numerous “charitable” groups ask from time to time for permission to borrow my van. An amazing thing happened – I put a pro-gun bumper sticker on the van – and now the usage request rate has dropped. It’s amazing how a little sticker can help separate the wheat from the chaff.

GUNS BRING ME HAPPINESS

I buy guns because in doing so, I can create family traditions and heirlooms to pass onto future generations in my family.

I buy guns because I can work with young people and say, “I respect and trust you, so here is this rifle for you to use and use wisely.” In contrast, the nanny state and the status of children as non-people is preserved and never challenged by those who will never trust a child or young person. I taught my daughter and my son how to shoot. I am now teaching my grandson, age six, how to shoot. Working with a youngster is a rite of passage – something sorely needed in our society of fake this and fake that.

I buy guns because being skilled with them the marksmanship that comes from practice brings consequences to the forefront. Computer geeks can bang away at their computers, for example, with little harm ever coming to anyone or even themselves. But in using firearms, one learns that actions have consequences – serious consequences. Bullets aimed and discharged can’t be “deleted” or taken back.

I buy guns because I’m taught valuable lessons in the process. I am constantly reminded of the meaning of words such as “parabola” and “oxidation.” Guns embody many elements of chemistry, physics, optics, metallurgy, manufacturing, economics, knowledge of human anatomy, human kinetics, and mathematics. Moreover, modern firearms, and their evolution, are a result of materials, knowledge, and invention, combined with the laws of physics.

Even though foolish legislators and would-be do-gooders eternally try, the laws of physics can’t be repealed and man’s knowledge base as well as man’s inherent ability to invent can’t be squelched. A spinning projectile – whether it’s a football or a speeding bullet — can be stable in flight whereas a non-spinning projectile is less stable and thus less accurate. I learn about, and am constantly reminded of, the laws of physics and man’s ability to be creative. The materials and knowledge requisite to the making of guns are just too prevalent in our world to ever be banned or legislated out of existence. By buying guns, I get my daily education – and I remain competitive.

I buy guns because I like guns. I like the idea of fondling guns, as handling them brings me pleasure. I admit that I’ve had a longstanding love affair with firearms, but it’s legal, moral and non-fattening. Also, that love affair doesn’t interfere with the other love affairs in life.

I buy and like guns because doing so permits me to have a social life. I find gun owners to be very down to earth, generally intelligent, open, non-judgmental and friendly. In short, I feel very relaxed, safe, and comfortable around fellow gun owners. I can hardly say the same about my closet liberal friends who are astounded when they find out that I like guns.

I buy guns because they serve as amplifiers of my voice. In short, I can speak very softly and yet people still hear me quite well, especially when those persons – those meaning harm to me – know or even sense that I’m armed and have the will to defend myself. I buy guns because I learned early in life that one should never take a knife to a gun fight.

GUNS INVOKE REALITY

I buy guns because they invoke reality. Gun owners, in my view, are realistic people.  Conversely, those who fear and loathe guns, in my view, end up living a fantasy life like that of Chicken Little where they end up jumping at every turn, fearful of every shadow.

GUNS DEFEND FREEDOM AND THEOLOGY

I buy guns because I believe that it’s my civic duty to do so. An insidious cancer is spreading in our society under the guise of “the theory of passive resistance.”  Sarah Brady and her followers who espouse that theory, for example, believe in the phrase, “Give them (thugs, rapists, and terrorists) what they want.” Disarming ourselves, individually or as a nation, won’t make our enemies any less evil nor any less intent on inflicting harm on us.

Nehemiah advised his workers (when rebuilding the wall under considerable opposition) to be armed with sword at side. Many unscholarly people like to quote the Bible and in particular the part about “thou shall not kill.” These people are misinformed and dangerous. The translation from Hebrew is better said as “you shall not commit murder.”  In that context, murder means to venomously hate someone, as if to wish the person dead or subject to great misfortune.

When we use forearms to defend ourselves, we are preserving life, not committing murder. Ownership of a firearm is in no way associated with hatred of people. God-fearing gun owners who believe in the Second Amendment don’t want anybody dead – we merely want to be left in peace and free to pursue happiness – with our families and within our communities.

A version of this article originally appeared at gunssavelife.com and is re-printed here with permission.