We need to end the cowboy culture around guns | Editorial

Published 11:23 am Friday, April 12, 2013

Connecticut has passed some of the strictest gun control laws in the country. The legislation targets gun-magazine capacity, background checks and expands the list of banned assault weapons.

Colorado last month passed similar legislation dealing with background checks and limiting magazine capacity to 15 rounds. New York and Maryland also have tough laws.

Sadly, our Legislature couldn’t or wouldn’t take a stand. And, things don’t look so good in Congress to deal with the issue.

Some who argue against tighter controls on guns bring up the specter of the government going door-to-door confiscating guns of law-abiding citizens. But that’s not really the issue. Besides, if government really wanted to crack down on a “deadly weapon,” it would ban tobacco products.

Now, before I get cast – and castigated – as gun hater, let me assure you I’m not. As a kid I, and my friends, spent many afternoons plunking tin cans with a .22 rifle. I’ve shot skeet in a rural pasture in Snohomish County and done the same at a fancy – and expensive – gun club in Chicago. I inherited an pistol and derringer from my father, who got them from his dad.

The real point of tighter controls on guns is that doing so would help change people’s attitudes about guns and our gun culture. We romanticize guns as part of our infatuation with the West, no matter that it no longer exists.

It’s time we put guns in perspective. Yes, they can be used to hunt and develop competitive skills. But they are inherently dangerous and their vast number and killing potential only makes it inevitable that tragedy will occur.

What ever happened to moderation?

– Craig Groshart, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter