Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Gun policy in Cohousing community

[BARANSKI (BARANSKI]

I had thought about the issue of guns in co-housing before, and here are my
thoughts:

I have a friend who was a potential co-housing person who has 'a few' guns. 
He's not much into hunting, but he does like target and skeet shooting.  He
doesn't carry one around for 'self-defense'.  I don't know if he has one under
his pillow :-).  He has them in a typical glass front gun display case in his
bedroom.

Myself, I'm very much in favor of 'the right to keep and bear arms'.  *I*
personally don't feel that I have the need to own a gun, either for
self-defense, hunting, or target shooting.  I feel that I'm as capable of
defending myself without a gun as with a gun.  And I have too many other
interests that I enjoy to take up hunting or target shooting.  I haven't used a
gun since using a .22 during boy scout camp.  

I've thought that I really should go out to a target range with him, and
reaquaint myself with handling a gun.  I have thought, being in a relatively
rural area, that the time might come when I need a gun to protect my sheep or
other animals, or to put an animal out of it's misery.  I doubt that I would
have the occasion to use it in self-defense; the most likely attacker would
most likely have overwhelming firepower.

I also don't buy my kids gun/war toys; but of course they play with them at
friends, and can pretend anything is a gun; oh well, it's not worth making a
big deal over.

For some reason, however, I was disturbed by gun display case.  It took a lot
of thought to figure out what it was about it that was bothering me.

My first concern about having guns in a community is that they be stored
safely.  I would be concerned about unauthorized use of the guns, kids, or even
other adults.  Juviniles are by definition sometimes delinquint, and adults
have their moments as well.  

I also don't like the idea of "displaying" guns, as if they were a trophy, or
other highly valued, significant object.  I view guns as tools, nothing more. 
Actually a gun only has very specific uses, which while justifiable, are
destructive.  You cannot use a gun to "make" something, as opposed to most
other tools which while they can are normally used creatively, can also be used
destrucively.  As such, I feel that "displaying" guns, glorifies
'destructiveness'.  It turns the guns into some high valued macho-ego prop.

On the other hand, I still believe that we have a constitutional right to own a
gun, and I would not want to deprive anyone of that right.  There are all sorts
of complicated safety procedures which would restrict that right that I feel
are unnecessary.

The solution, at least for me, is quite simple.  Anyone should be allowed to
have a gun, but it must be kept 'low key'.  Weapons should be registered and
kept track of, but they should be stored 'out of sight & out of mind'; eg,
*not* displayed, and it should not be common knowledge where/how they are
stored.  Needless to say, guns and ammo should be stored in seperate, locked,
secure cases.

Doubtless, many will disagree with me, but this is my opinion on how I would
like to see the issue handled.

Jim Baranski