Guns!
I was downtown the other day and I saw something I don’t see everyday. A man walking through a parking lot with a huge firearm strapped to his side. I’ll be honest with you, for me it was unsettling. I’m not sure why, it just was. He was clearly exercising his second amendment rights. And lord knows I’m all about exercising your rights – I’m just more used to the first amendment then I am the second.
But nonetheless there he was minding his own business and just walking back to his car. Yet I really couldn’t take my eyes off of him, because for me it was different, it’s something I don’t see everyday. I should say that in the same parking lot there was a woman walking through that looked as though the clothes she was wearing fell on her from a building she walked passed and her hair was died a lovely shade of blue. Yet my eyes focused on the side arm.
I pondered this as I got a cup of coffee and told the story of the man I just saw to see if I was over reacting. Even though we all thought it strange we agreed he was well within his rights and was abiding by local laws so, no harm no foul – right? Well for me it wasn’t that simple, for me carrying a fire arm (unless you are a member of law enforcement) is a sign of aggression. It tells the world “I’m here to be left alone”. With that thought in mind I couldn’t help thinking maybe that is exactly what he wanted. Maybe the world is so crazy that he straps this thing to his side so as to avoid a problem. Because lets face it, if you go after a guy that is armed and you’re name isn’t Wyatt Earp and you’re not on the OK Corral then you are a bit nuts. So as I pondered that for a bit, I actually thought to myself – the world is nuts and this might be the only way to navigate through it safely. So, on that premise I found a little peace.
I was very tempted to ask him why he carried a gun in the open like that. But the better part of respect stopped me. Because after all it’s none of my business and besides in a town where Birkenstocks and wool socks run amuck, that question, no matter whom asked it could have wound up confrontational. I honestly wanted to know, I wasn’t judging just wondering what the mindset was. Because as I thought about it I went from one end of the spectrum to the other. The other being, maybe he was on a power trip (although, I have to say it really didn’t appear that way), someone looking for trouble. Maybe that is what unsettled me. The prospect that someone would be that aggressive is a little troublesome. Although I really do want to be clear that this individual was not carrying himself like that.
Our Constitution has many amendments. Those that cover Cruel and Unusual punishment, term limits, abolishing slavery, freedom of speech and the right to bear arms to name a few. None of which I have an issue with. I believe in protecting the second amendment even though I don’t own a gun and actually never owned a gun. I will defend your right to own one should that be your choice. However how contradictory do I sound when I say I don’t want to see one strapped to your side in a social open setting? Oddly enough what drives that thinking are the folks that conceal weapons and not the ones that you can see. I feel the same way when I see hunters walking through town with rifles slung over their shoulders. If I see a sidearm at a firing range or a rifle in the woods it doesn’t bother me a bit, I consider those in their element. It’s when you remove them from what I define as their element that I get a tad hinky. Much like say Sarah Palin in a tie die shirt flashing a peace at a pro-choice rally – tell me you wouldn’t stare. What the hell is up with that?
