The shit has hit the fan

It was only a matter of time before Zevon made it into on of my posts.  Sorry for missing a Monday again, family stuff involving children and hospitals.

So, last week, this was published.  In it, Stephen King makes many valid, middle of the road points that, unfortunately, are going to end up being completely ignored by the extremes of both sides of the gun control argument.  I understand if you don't want to pay to read the essay (although all proceeds go to charity, and yes, I honestly believe they do.  One advantage for having grown up with King as a hometown hero, I know exactly what he's done for philanthropy.).  You'd be missing out on some well thought out opinions from an average guy though.  In lieu of that though, here are some probably not as well thought out opinions from another average guy.

I have no issue with people owning rifles.  Hunting is very much a way of life here, and the only reason I myself don't hunt is simply because I don't have the stomach for it.  On that note, you don't need a fucking semi-automatic killing machine with a 20 round magazine to hunt.  If it takes you more then a handful of bullets to bring down whatever it is you're hunting, you're either doing it wrong, or you should really not be hunting something that big.  Related note: Hunting for sport is bullshit.  If you have no intention of eating it, or at the very least donating the meat, don't hunt.

I have some issues with people owning handguns.  I find them to be fascinating, but I question their usefulness.  Protection is the only reason I can come up with for owning one, although I suppose if you were a professional marksman you would need one.  But, if you take the proper precautions to keep the handgun safely stored, it's going to be very difficult to get it in case of an emergency where you might need it.  Or at least very time consuming.  Even then, do you really need more then 10 bullets in the magazine?  Should only take one to kill someone, 2 if you're a bad shot, and if you need more then that, you really shouldn't have a gun anyways.  "But Dave," you say, "what if there are more then 5 assailants?"  Well, then you're already fucked then, aren't you?  More bullets are not going to help.  You are not John McClane.

As far as armed guards in schools, well, where's the harm?  Would give parents peace of mind.  Budgeting for them will be tricky though, especially in school's that are already struggling with maintaining a budget.  Schools in Maine are going to have a very difficult time with this one, especially since our governor is trying to push more and more of the budget onto towns, thereby raising taxes and causing all kinds of other issues.  Doesn't detract from it being a good idea, just means it's a little tricky to implement.

And yes, I'm aware there is far more to this debate then what I've presented here, but again, I'm just trying to point out a moderate point of view.  The middle is an awful place to be politically, but alas, some of us just don't fit into an easily defined place.