How I Started To Believe In The 2nd Amendment

I wasn't always a believer in the 2nd Amendment. It took an educational experience to make me understand how precious and valuable this freedom is.

Of course, I never had a problem with people using guns for hunting... and while I know better now, back then I thought the 2A was simply to protect things like hunting. As a hunter, I liked that. I came from a hunting family. One of my grandmother's was a much better shot than anyone else in my family. Many women hunt today, but few did back then.

Of course, handguns weren't something you hunt with, so I didn't have a problem with people who wanted to ban them. Shotguns and rifles were "different" in my mind.

I went to the University of Michigan where the 2A was crapped on almost every day. While it did nothing to deter my support of guns for hunting, I bought into the rest of the blatherskyte.

Then I got a job. I am a scientist by trade. After a while, I got into management. After more time passed, I had to fire someone. This was awful. I felt terrible, but this person was deserving of firing, and basically we had to or else there would be legal problems. But it wasn't something I liked. "Bosses" are pegged with an inaccurate stereotype - contrary to the Hollywood portrayal, I don't know anyone personally who gets any pleasure at all from firing someone, no matter the reason. I fired him, he cussed me out and said he'd "get me" and that was the end of it. So I thought. After all, he was informed to never come back on company property - to do so would be trespassing.

The company, of course, had all the "don't bring weapons to work" legal mumbo jumbo in the employee handbook. It was also posted in the lobby and the employee entrance that weapons were not allowed in the building.

This didn't matter to the gentleman I fired. He came back a week later to get me, entered the lobby and asked for me. The employee behind the counter, a new person who didn't know this gentleman, paged me. Then he excused himself, found me before I got to the counter, and told me this guy was acting strange. In fact, he used these exact words: "He keeps a hand in his coat pocket. It's like this guy has a gun in his pocket and wants to shoot you." He described this man's looks and I knew right away who it was.

Instead of going to the lobby, we went to a phone to call the police - even if he didn't have a gun, he was trespassing. Fortunately for all of us, this guy was content to wait in the lobby and police had time to defuse this situation. If he decided to jump the counter and come looking for me... I shudder to think of what might have happened.

Long story short, this guy was illegally carrying a stolen, fully loaded 9mm while trespassing in a "gun-free" zone.

It would have been very easy, though intellectually dishonest, to jump on the "guns are bad" media circus and "ban all guns" bandwagon. Instead, I analyzed and learned from this situation.

This man knew, and ignored, the company policy on guns at work.

This man knew, and ignored, his previously signed statement (from his employee days) declaring (among other things) that he understood weapons were not allowed on the premises.

This man knew, and ignored, the order to stay away from company property or be arrested for trespassing.

This man knew, and ignored, the posted signs.

This man knew, and ignored, the laws prohibiting stealing.

This man knew, and ignored, the laws on concealed carry.

This man knew, and was ignoring, the laws prohibiting assault with a deadly weapon.

This man knew, and apparently planned to ignore, the laws prohibiting murder.

Through legal technicalities, this man escaped a long prison sentence. The company attorney told me to get a restraining order. Realizing that a restraining order would only be used as toilet paper by someone who wanted me dead, I went out instead, took defensive gun lessons from a reputable instructor, and bought a hand gun. I took other, non-firearm, training to prepare in case this man, or anyone else, decided to do me in. While I appreciate the police, they can't protect me from every threat. It is my job to protect myself. The 2nd Amendment codifies my right to bear arms for my self defense and for the defense of my country. And I realize in countries like Great Britain and Australia that I would not be allowed to defend myself. I cherish my 2nd Amendment.

I've never had a life-threatening problem since, and I pray that I don't. Rather than join the "ban guns" crowd, I realized that bad guys don't obey the law. I want the means to defend myself, and I want you to have the means to defend yourself. While there is much more to self-defense than firearms, they are an important part of self-defense strategies.

Rather than become a statistic, I chose to be a survivor.

And that's how I started to believe in the 2nd Amendment.