My gun and me

Politics with a mix of farm life

At the risk of losing my reputation as a card-carrying leftie, I always come up against a few issues where I side with conservatives-- mostly. One of them is the right to own a gun, the right, under certain circumstances (classes and background checks) to have a concealed weapon permit. I break with them on the right to own an assault rifle-- and really break with them on allowing guns to be carried on the hip into town. Didn't we decide in the Old West that that wasn't a wise thing to do?

As so often happens to me, I have a mix of beliefs that don't comfortably put me in either camp and gun rights is one of those. I am very comfortable knowing that when I go to town some people, who have been screened, might be carrying a gun in a shoulder holster or in their purse. I won't be one of them though.

To me concealed weapon permits make excellent sense, especially in an era where we have nutcases taking on a grudge against the world because they didn't get the date they wanted in high school and setting out to kill a lot of innocent people before they do themselves in. I am not sure where this all started but it's sure with us today. Having a few armed citizens who have taken training, know how to use a gun, and have it with them, could potentially be good. A concealed weapon is not a provocation and nobody should have one who isn't ready to use it.

My first gun came when I was 12 and I asked for it as a Christmas present. It kind of amazes me now when I realize my granddaughter will be 11 this year and would I see her having a .22 next year? Well her life situation is different than mine was.

I grew up on the edge of wilderness, last house on a dead-end road with 80 acres to play and enjoy. I think I have always sought to duplicate that life and never have as such places are harder to come by for ordinary folks today. When my parents bought that farm, Mom was stay-at-home mom (as I later was when I had my children) and Dad worked as a laboring man at various jobs that used muscle. You know there wasn't a lot of spare money, but the farm was their dream and they got it. When they had to sell it, it broke my heart.

They never found farming a money making proposition as they tried raising various livestock. The ones that led to my first gun were the sheep. I grew up seeing sheep torn apart by dogs but still alive with maggots in the wounds. I wanted to see those sheep protected, and a .22 was my contribution to doing that. I would walk around the property and feel that if I saw anything attacking the sheep, I'd shoot them. I do the same thing today.

My dad taught me to care for my gun, to handle it safely and even today I am cautious with it after all these many years of handling it. To me a gun is a tool to protect what I love. My gun happens to also have beautiful lines, but I don't carry it joyfully. Heck, since Farm Boss added the scope, my .22 is heavy. I have to admit scopes are handy to use in shooting but they do weigh enough that when I walk out to the barn with my gun, I switch which side I am carrying it on and how I carry it. The one thing I never do is point it at anybody; and when walking, even if it's ready to use, I don't keep my finger on the trigger.

This summer I have been carrying that rifle a lot more because of the coyote attacks. In the last few months, we have had three lambs killed by coyotes, one badly hurt (slashes to the neck) that might not make it.

One night Farm Boss had the spotlight, rifle, and his shoes ready. Luckily so as we were awakened about 1:30 with the cows making a racket. We have one cow who can bellow in a way that breaks your heart. It always sounds like something awful happened. That night she was loudly terrified and angry.

Farm Boss got out there as fast as he could to see a coyote trying to get into the inner sheep pasture where we keep them at night. He got off three shots but missed. Coyotes are very good at broken-field running. Bullets whizzing past might dissuade it for awhile, but you know it has pups to feed, sheep are easy kills, and it will be back.

One of the lambs it killed, it only removed the liver and what it could carry back to its pups. I understand its needs but I have some too, and it's to protect these sheep. Other than us, running is a sheep's only defense. One thing I will say is that generally coyotes kill fast and effectively unlike people's pet dogs. From the wounds, it's easy to tell which animal was the attacker.

Even though I have the concealed weapon permit, I rarely carry a gun off this place except for hiking in the hills above us. I have several reasons to not carry. One is a very small purse which I also don't carry more than I must (men have the right idea on how to carry wallets and keys).

I have another reason though. The class I took on using a gun made the point, don't pull a gun ever as a threat. Only show it if you are prepared to use it. In my house, I will know someone who wasn't invited, is a threat; but out in public, how would I know until they started shooting? I think in public it'd be easier to get myself in trouble with a gun than without it.

Some say if they took away all the guns, our country would be safer. They are usually people afraid of guns, and I don't blame them for the fear. A gun is definitely a weapon that can be misused or even turned against its owner if it is improperly used.

In my opinion, you will never see all citizens giving up their guns. The ones who want to obey the law, yes, but the others, no. So I'd rather see gun safety taught, people encouraged to learn to use a gun if they are comfortable with that; and if not, leave it to those who are.