1. Life is finite. Which makes life precious. But not to everyone. There are plenty of people in this world who don’t value any human life other than their own, and maybe not even that. They certainly don’t value my life and the lives of my loved ones. Whether through malice aforethought or as a “simple” and expedient means to an end, they would end my life and the lives of those who give my world meaning. A firearm is by no means the only way to protect against evil intent. But a gun is an extremely effective method for thwarting those who would inflict grievous bodily harm and death on me and mine. My gun gives me a fighting chance to fight for my life and the lives of my family, friends and (should I choose) community. I love that about guns.

2. I pray that liberty outlives me, so that my progeny may enjoy its benefits. I shoulder my personal responsibility to maintain liberty by paying my taxes, voting and communicating with my elected officials. I also protect my freedoms by exercising my Constitutional rights, including the right to keep and bear arms. My gun is the silent foundation of my government’s respect for the primacy of individual liberty; my gun helps maintain the balance of power that keeps tyranny at bay. I love that about guns.

3. Life is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually draining. When I pick up my gun, I lay my burdens down. There is no past, present or future. No kids or bills or ambitions or introspection. I’m living in the moment. All my motions serve a single purpose: to create an explosion that sends a physical representation of my will away from my body at hundreds of feet per second. In the instant between the bullet’s rest and its release, I am relieved of the weight of existence. My pursuit of happiness is perfectly realized. I love that about guns.

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35 COMMENTS

  1. I really like guns and shooting for the relief of stress, the challenge of hitting a target and the fact that they give me a self-defense capability that I wouldn’t otherwise have. It’s also my way of giving the proverbial middle finger to the SOBs who don’t want good people to have guns. But I don’t “love” guns or any other inanimate objects. Not even inflatable ones. Or my ex-wife.

    • +1

      I don’t hunt and I don’t shoot competitively. I shoot purely as a recreational activity. I’m a paper-puncher and plinker. I wouldn’t even call it “sporting”. Just the personal gratification I get from firing a good quality firearm and hitting a target X yards away.

      Then there’s the peace of mind of having guns at my disposal, should I ever need one. I have never needed a gun in my entire life. I hope I never need a gun. And, in all probability, I will never need a gun. But should I ever need a gun, I had better have a gun.

    • +1
      I appreciate the defensive aspects but for me it is mostly fun and relaxation. Shooting has a meditative quality since doing it well requires enough focus to empty my mind of everything else. Great stress relief. I am also a gadget freak and guns are a great outlet for that.

  2. You Americans and your “pursuit of happiness.” It is the reason you sit there and debate whether or not you defend property at all. It was life, liberty, and property in the original statement of natural rights as written by the Englishman John Locke that inspired your misguided “pursuit of happiness.”

    No one but you understands what makes you happy. An what makes you happy doesn’t necessarily make some one else happy. It is like trying to rule based on fairness.

    Property is clear and simple. Ownership. America’s founding fathers surely screwed the pooch on that last item.

  3. I really enjoy the stress relief of shooting.

    It is also a lot of fun to teach others that guns are a necessity in todays world. My hardest sell has been to a former Marine though. Work with him every day and he things it is absolutely absurd to concealed carry.

  5. I like guns.

    I love freedom, where it can be found. Private gun ownership, when it is unrestricted, is a very powerful reminder and symbol of freedom. It’s a warning to people who would be your absolute slave masters. Gun ownership is somewhat of a “crutch” now, unfortunately. Some people think they’re free if they can have guns, even though we live under a creeping despotism. We rent our property from the state and give half of our income to it. Any society where you can’t sell raw milk, or buy antibiotics, or smoke harmless weeds, is a mortally ill one. While we’re armed, they can’t take us to camps or corral us into pits to shoot us in the head. But they can do everything else because we put up with it.

  6. I LOVE GUNS!!!!! I’m not sure if Giao is trying to be funny or a smart ass, but I’ll decide what makes me happy(what makes others happy isn’t something I need to worry about) and so will everyone else. I saw what happened to all those people in the UK when the scum came and stole all their $hit. I’m pretty sure these people aren’t very happy, after being beaten and robbed by some lowlifes. LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS sounds pretty good to me , along with all my guns (which I love).

    • Colin Goddard’s pursuit of happiness is hampered by your ownership of guns. Since the government (according to founding documents) is supposed to protect the citizens’ natural rights to pursue happiness. In this case, should the government assist you or assist him in your respective pursuits? The pursuit of happiness does not solve this particular dialectic. More so, it creates a nation of petulant children making demands because satisfying those demands will make them “happy.” Welfare, public healthcare, etc. all in the name of happiness.

      But wait. There’s more! Is happiness real or is it a metaphysical unicorn? Or is it a psychological illusion? If guns were taken away from the population and we were to assess their ability to be happy, would we find that depriving them of guns prevent happiness from being experienced? I would argue that plenty of people, very likely you included, found happiness in some moment of your youth before you ever held or owned a gun. Therefore, a gun is not essential to your pursuit of happiness.

      I’m not presenting these arguments because I’m anti-gun. I love the things. I’m presenting these arguments because the whole pursuit of happiness issue was written by people who didn’t know what they were talking about to be read by people who didn’t know what they were reading. The pursuit of happiness creates an avenue for the argument against guns.

      The pursuit of happiness as a natural, inalienable right sucks because it’s completely non-sensical. It’s a sonic screw driver and a Heisenberg compensator all rolled into one. Had the founding fathers stuck with property instead, the ownership of guns would be protected as they are property and since property is a natural, inalienable right the government can go bugger off. But no. That’s not what they wrote. And so we have to deal with that problem today.

      • Well, interesting, but . . . the pursuit of happiness is NOT part of our law. Yes, it’s in the Declaration of Independence, but the Declaration of Independence is not part of the law of the land. So your whole pursuit of happiness rant is kinda meaningless. Interesting, yes, but meaningless.

        • It isn’t law but it gives a direction and perspective on the foundations of our ideals. The document in question also stated the reasons for America’s departure from its former political overlords, because said overlords trampled all over “inalienable rights.” As in, they can’t be separated from you. No numeration of them is necessary because they’re baked in by God.

          Anything counter to those run afoul of the original intent of the revolution in the first place. And if those reasons were good enough to revolt against back then, why would they be insufficient grounds to revolt against today?

          Rather interesting since the guys who wrote this stuff owned a lot of property.

          • Giao Nguyen says:

            September 16, 2011 at 5:57 PM

            “You Americans and your “pursuit of happiness.” It is the reason you sit there and debate whether or not you defend property at all.”

            “Giao Nguyen says:

            September 16, 2011 at 9:37 PM

            It isn’t law but it gives a direction and perspective on the foundations of our ideals.”

            So which is it, Giao? Are you an American? Or just one when it suits your needs?

            • I’m an American that rejects the pursuit of happiness clause. You Americans and your pursuit of happiness clause are misguided. More succinctly, I am not one of you.

              • I’m happy that you like guns Giao, and the things that make me happy when I was a kid were all my toy guns. We would all be unhappy Americans if we didn’t have guns because we would have lost to the Brits and the Nazi’s would rule the world today if it weren’t for our guns. Whenever the overlords decide to trample on your rights, you should eliminate the overlords.

              • “Giao Nguyen says:
                September 16, 2011 at 10:35 PM
                I’m an American that rejects the pursuit of happiness clause. You Americans and your pursuit of happiness clause are misguided. More succinctly, I am not one of you.”

                I don’t care what clause you follow or not, Giao. You are calling yourself American but then separating yourself from the term while calling yourself American. Get what I am saying?

                Sounds like a non-American to me. You can’t be both. You can’t say, “…you Black people…” while being Black. You can’t and make sense at the same time anywway.

      • The pursuit of happiness is decided by the one in question (the individual). If you need a crayon, perhaps Wal-Mart can help you keep up. The idea of personal liberty is that we (the individuals) decide our own destinies by action (or inaction) and what comes is by our own choosing. As for the U.S. Constitution being flawed by individualism, perhaps you need to take a look at your own hive mentality to decide for yourself whether or not you belong. I am responsible for my own future, as are you. As in your own future. That is how it was written.
        -Mike

      • “Colin Goddard’s pursuit of happiness is hampered by your ownership of guns.” I don’t think so, Giao. I think his pursuing happiness is hampered by the paralyzing fear in which he lives.

        I don’t know if he was so fearful before he was shot, or if it’s a manifestation of survivor’s guilt, but a good counselor could probably help him through it. That, and a day at the range with someone he trusts.

        Maybe he’d trust one of the VPI cops who waited outside for backup while Goddard et al were being shot. Getting shot hurts; I know that for a fact, whether it be a .22 in the leg or a “crowd control” rubber bullet. However, knowing that it hurts and that I’m lucky to be alive, in no small part due to the poor aim of a couple of idiots, doesn’t make me live in fear of guns or MOST people who have them.

        There’s no guarantee that you or I or Colin Goddard will never meet up with one of the few folks who has a gun and wants to use it against us. At a moment like that, I’m sure we’d all like to have a weapon in which we had confidence.

  8. Owning firearms doesn’t really keep tyranny away. In fact, such a privilege can be used to keep te sheep in line.

    Let them have their pop guns says the System. We shall keep our media, our army, our institutions of learning, and our power.

    Most of the net-warriors would submit to a gun ban or at best stash a few in the backyard if push came to shove. As a society we are too decadent and atomized to resist anything.

    Alternative societies are what truly threaten the System. Ruby Ridge…..to ruin a man who existed in a non-approved community. Waco….to incinerate a non-approved community. Same goes for the “militias” and other “fringe” groups regardless of ideological orientation.

    I love firearms. History, craftsmanship, and function go into all of mine. But they are not magic wand.

  9. This is so eloquently and succinctly stated, it worth bookmarking. I will be referring back to this one. Good on ya, Robert!

  13. Having had to carry firearms all my adult life until I retired,I always thought of them as tools of necessity.
    After I retired I started shooting recreationally-not competitively,except fot the occasional plate shoot which is really just fun.
    I don’t hunt because I don’t like game meat-if I were close to where they are overrun with feral hogs,I guess I would hunt.It’s not like I find hunting objectionable.
    I also have carry permits,both for my own state,and a retired LE cerd valid in every state under HR218.
    I find now that I’m older and partially disabled a handgun is a good thing to have-both at home and away.
    I don’t own/shoot firearms as a statement,but I can’t say that making nanny state leftist busybodies upset isn’t satisfying.
    I really don’t need arugula eating Volvo driving,Birkenstock wearing “intellectuals”telling me what my rights are-they remind me of the eloi in the “Time Machine”,blissfully unaware that the morlocks of this world view them as veal.

  15. Introspection and philosophy aside, I have loved guns since I knew what they were without knowing or asking why. I recall being facinated by a Winchester Carbine (probably a M92) on a table for sale at age 5 or so (1952?) and asking my Dad how it worked. He picked it up and explained how the carrier lifted the next round, etc (I don’t recall the whole conversation, but now I know how they work) and I was entranced.

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