I love my Second Amendment right. I was raised in Boise, Idaho, and have been hunting the Treasure Valley for upland game and waterfowl since I was strong enough to carry a gun. I come from a long line of hunters who take pride in the time-honored tradition of stalking game, killing it ethically, and providing food for their families. I was raised to appreciate the awesome power of firearms and to treat all guns as if they are loaded. I own several guns and would be sad to part with them. All of that being said, I make this appeal to the members of the United States Congress: For the sake of your citizens, please pass some gun-control legislation.
On Friday, I was booked to fly from Los Angeles to Eugene, Oregon. That morning, a gunman walked into LAX with a semiautomatic assault rifle and opened fire, killing a TSA officer and wounding several other people. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to be booked on an afternoon flight.
As I travelled to LAX that afternoon, the scene was chaotic. It was impossible to drive up to the terminals, so people were walking to the airport from the nearest parking lots. With several pieces of luggage, I hiked two miles from the rental car agency to Terminal 7. Inside the airport people were stressed and scared. As I went through security and looked at the TSA officers, I couldn't help but wonder what was going through the minds of these hardworking men and women.
Why do we allow ourselves to live in this kind of environment? Are we seriously going to let a small, radical contingent of our population keep us living as if in the Wild West? I would gladly hand in all of my weapons if I knew that doing so would prevent any more gun-related murders in this country.
As Americans, we have a long history with firearms. We also have a government built on compromise, so here is the compromise I propose: Ban assault rifles and handguns for everyone except police and military personnel. These weapons are made to kill humans and should be strictly limited. At the same time, allow responsible citizens to own rifles and shotguns. Rifles are for hunting big-game animals, shotguns are for hunting birds; non-automatic versions of these weapons should be available for those with an interest in hunting or target shooting.
It’s true that guns don't kill people; people do. But when deranged individuals decide to kill, they too often use assault rifles and handguns.
As runners, we cover a lot of territory. Our runs take us from "safe" neighborhoods to more "dangerous" parts of town and everything in between. We pound the pavement, hearts pumping, lungs aching, unarmed with only a millimeter of dry-fit shirt to protect us. To some, we look like good targets, as was the case of Christopher Lane in Oklahoma. While out for a jog in August, Christopher was shot to death by several "bored" teenagers – and the autopsy indicated the shooter used a handgun.
Christopher was one of us, and we owe it to him and others to make sure his death wasn't in vain. I have decided I will not vote for any political candidate who does not support gun-control legislation – and I implore you to join me in this stance.
