No One Asked Me But…

by Dr. Larry Moses
Submitted Mar. 26, 2008

No one asked me but… At this moment it appears the court will uphold an American citizen’s right to own a hand gun. Last week my thought of the week was: The second amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others. I was at my youngest son’s house in Henderson when this was mentioned and he said; “That was a brilliant statement, Dad. I get to face down a tank and F-16’s with your .45 automatic.” While I seldom respond to critics, I quickly reminded him he did not get the .45. It was mine. He could have the 9 millimeter. And one more remark of that nature he would be relegated to the .22 rifle his brother bought to shoot varmints. This rather formidable arsenal has some interesting origins.

Let me give a little background on my gun ownership. I was raised in a household that had no guns. While many of my boyhood friend’s fathers hunted and fished on a regular basis, all my father ever did was work. From six each morning until six each night my dad went to work. I don’t recall vacations on a regular basis. When we did vacation it was usually to a nearby lake where my father might join us in the evening but still go to work in the morning. Many of the boys in my neighborhood hunted with their dads and actually had guns. Most had B.B. guns with which we engaged in B.B. gun wars. I always had to borrow one, and of course, never let my mother know I engaged in such activities. We also had dirt clod fights and walnut wars. But I wander from the issue at hand. When I entered the Marine Corp at the age of nineteen I don’t recall that I had ever fired a real weapon of any kind. If I had, it was so infrequent that it made no lasting impression.

While in the service, I qualified with the standard M-l or later the new M-14 rifle. I also carried a .45 caliber 1911 model automatic. I never became overly proficient with any of these weapons. I always qualified as a Marksmen with the rifles, the lowest rating of proficiency in the Corps. While I carried the .45 when I became an intelligence clerk, I don’t believe I ever had to qualify with it.

When I left the Corps, I went to school at Utah State University. I met a real mountain man disguised as a men’s clothing salesman at J.C. Penny’s. I was in the store in Logan, Utah, buying civilian clothes to wear to school. Doug was about my age and selling cloths to support his habit of hunting and fishing and his family of five kids. Doug fished almost every morning before work and hunted every available moment after. After selling me some clothes he invited Jean and me to his house to meet his family and play some cards. A friendship was struck that lasts to this day, some forty years later. Doug has since passed away, but Georgia is still a great friend to Jean and me. This was all written to tell you that the only hunting I did was during this period when I was hanging out with Doug during my college years.

My only deer hunt was with Doug. During this time, my rifle was an army surplus M-1 Carbine. Doug took me out and actually put me in position to shoot a deer, but when the moment came, I saw little or no sense in completing the act. The thought occurred to me that if I shot the deer, Doug would make me clean it and haul it to the truck; he was that way. I really don’t care that much for venison and passed up the shot. Doug, who owned many guns, always liked the carbine so I gave it to him. In return, Doug insisted that I take a .22 revolver with holster. I had that gun in the house for a period of time and don’t believe I fired 10 rounds through it. I did go varmint shooting with Doug a number of times but he always furnished the weapon that I used. I eventually gave the pistol to another friend of mine who is also a great outdoorsman.

For many years, while my boys were growing up, there was no gun in my house. I respect my lack of ability with a side arm. I seemed to survive quite well without being armed. While my boys never were exposed to weapons in the house, they did get acquainted with guns through their Texas cousins. I certainly have no animosity toward guns; I just never really saw a need for them. Then we moved to Yerington, Nevada, where my middle son graduated from high school. During his three years at Yerington High School, Gregg ran with a number of real live cowboys. Many of their adventures included hunting and varmint shooting. Gregg asked to purchase a .22 so he could join in the varmint shoots without borrowing a gun. He was working after school and was willing to pay back a loan for the gun. I don’t remember if I ever collected on the loan. But when he left home for the Marine Corps, he left the gun.

In Yerington, the gun culture was an interesting thing to behold. It is the only place I have been where stopping to shoot geese on the way to school was a legitimate excuse for being late by both student and faculty. On any given school day, two-thirds of the boys and a number of the girls, as well as faculty, at my school had guns in racks in their trucks in the school parking lot. However, these kids had been taught not only how to use guns but when and what for.

Now I am not advocating guns on campus. I am merely stating a fact of life that I am sure does not exist today. See, those kids did not spend hours and hours playing video games where they shoot people and come to believe the major use of a gun is the shooting of people. These idiots you see in the cities shooting people at random, usually with a gun illegally acquired and possessed, have never been taught to use a gun let alone the responsibility that goes with its use.

Gregg is also responsible for the 9mm in my house. He served six years in the Corps with a tour in Desert Storm. When he came home one Christmas, he gave his older brother the 9mm as a Christmas gift. His older brother who grew up in Las Vegas was never around guns. When he married, he gave the 9mm to me. Anticipating children in the house, he felt it best not to have the gun around.

Then the Brady bill was passed, and I decided while I had no real desire to be armed that I should acquire a gun before the laws became more restrictive. I had Gregg purchase for me a 1911 model .45 automatic like the one I had in the service. The important thing is not that one has a fire arm; the important thing is that a law abiding citizen of America has a right to have one. Actually; one might argue that a law abiding citizen has an obligation to have a gun and should learn how to use it properly.

I actually went through the classes necessary to be licensed to carry a concealed weapon. I never carried one but the acquisition of the license was an adventure. When I found the requirements for renewing a license was the same as if you had never licensed, I decided it was not worth the hassle. So, if you see me on the streets today, unless you can see the gun on my hip, I am unarmed and the entire world is safe.

Thought of the week…. Remember silence is sometimes the best answer.

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