Bearing Arms

This post originally was just going to be about taking my brother to the shooting range for his 30th birthday with my Dad while his wife and my family were getting ready for his surprise birthday party at the house. Then, I realized that this post may become more political politically correct than I would have hoped. The beauty of writing blogs is that you can voice your opinion freely because of our First Amendment right to freedom of speech. So now I am about to exercise that right. I know some of you will probably disagree with me, and that's ok. This is your warning. 

The Second Amendment- the right to bear arms. (Impressed? You shouldn't be. No, I don't remember exactly which amendments are which after these two.)

If you read my blog much, you will notice that I am not a political person. Scratch that. I enjoy politics but never rarely write about it because quite frankly I will believe what I believe and you will believe what you want to believe and that's just life. One comment by either of us will not change views. This goes for the Presidential election as well and I'm not even going to go there... **end rant

Ok, a bit of history... 

Ever since we were really little, my brothers (in case you didn't know, I have 3!!) and I have been shooting guns. And by very young, I mean I first shot a rifle by myself  (with Dad behind me, of course) at age 5 in the Catskill mountains in NY. My Great-Grandmother had a mountain home up there where we would vacation. We (with my parents of course!!) would go into the woods in the back and shoot targets and the unfortunate squirrel. My parents always took every precaution and we were extremely safe (you can exhale now!). It was important for my parents to teach us about guns and gun safety starting when we were young because you can never be too careful and it is better to know how to use a gun than to be scared of one. You never know what situation you may find yourself in. I fully agree.

Fast forward 9 years. 

I was 14 years old and my Dad, brother and I took a Hunter Education and Certification course in Northeast Ohio. I thought I was such a badass. I mean, I was definitely the only girl I knew that had one. After the course, we got our hunting licenses (tomboy much?). I went on my first hunting trip with my Dad, Uncle, brother and cousin that fall. Although I am not the most patient person in the world and probably fell asleep once or twice in the deer stand, we still had a blast. My brother shot a 10-point buck and it was a very exciting day to say the least. Although it was my first and last day hunting, it was a bonding experience with the guys that I will never forget and I was so glad that they let a girl tag along. And don't worry, we ate venison for months! Venison jerky, venison stew, venison scampi... you get it. 

Fast forward 7 years. 

I was a 21 year old college student at the University of West Georgia. I lived in an apartment complex off-campus with one roommate in a first floor apartment. Carrollton was a little sketch but I was not overly concerned. I mean come on, nothing will happen to ME, I thought- it's always some other poor unfortunate soul. Thankfully, it was nothing huge but it did scare the crap out of me. I had just gotten off work at Red Lobster in Douglasville and it was about 11pm. My roommate was staying at her boyfriend's house for the night. I walk into my apartment and immediately sense something is wrong. My brand new puppy, Jack, is crying in the bathroom. Crying a different cry, like he NEEDED me. I walk in and noticed that coins are all over the floor and the back sliding glass door is open with a coin trail leading out. I walk into my room and the window is open and a HUGE muddy boot print is on the pretty red pillow that was laying under the window frame on the carpet. At this point, I am mace in hand, key between my fingers, ready to attack because I feel so violated. After getting Jack, attempting to calm him down and searching the house to take sure someone isn't in the shower or a closet, I call my roommate to make sure it wasn't a disgusting joke. She and her boyfriend come over as well as my boyfriend at the time. We call the police to report it. Luckily, the only things that were taken were my brand new clay poker chip set I had gotten the previous Christmas (again, tomboy much?!), my huge parking meter change bank (hence all the coins everywhere!), and other random items. Surprisingly my camera, computer, TV, iPod and Jack were never touched even though they were all in full view. It was this instance when I felt that I needed to become a gun owner. For peace of mind and in case I was home the next time an intruder entered my home so I could defend myself. I would be prepared, gosh darn it!

Several months later, it was Christmas time. My parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas. Just like the Christmas Story, I requested a Red Ryder BB Gun Beretta PX4 Storm because of course, it had to be Italian like me! ;) 

As you can see, I am an experienced and knowledgeable gun owner. I have known how to shoot guns for over 23 years now (don't do the math to calculate my age. I know you were about to!) and taken courses. It runs in our family and is truly a fun bonding experience for us (mind you everyone got guns that year for Christmas and matching tattoos the next... yeah, we are a little crazy!!). 

So back to my brother's 30th birthday story...

We were trying to come up with how to get my brother out of the house and it was my job to entertain him. I immediately came up with the idea of taking him to the shooting range. It was a no brainer. Since living in Austria and not being able to have my gun there, it was the perfect excuse to want to shoot my gun since I never get to. I had Dad come along with me so it wouldn't be too suspicious. So while everyone was setting up for the party, lucky me got to go have some quality time with A and Dad at the shooting range. Boy did I get the good end of the deal!

Overall, we had a great time! I mean, who wouldn't love shooting up a zombie target as a stress reliever?! Here are some pics of our day together... 

Before

After

Happy 30th Aaron!! 

In regards to the whole issue of banning guns, I think it is ridiculous that people want to take away this freedom. As long as you are SAFE and knowledgeable, that right should not be taken away. The key here is EDUCATION. Lord knows that if guns are banned, there is no way it will prevent violent criminals from obtaining and using them. It will only keep us "good guys" from protecting ourselves. 

BAM!! :)