Guns don't kill people, murderers kill people, some using guns

I'm wandering into enemy territory here, or rather, the DMZ of gun control.

On one side, the pacifists who think the world of people should be peaceful and free of weaponry.

On the other side, the trigger-happy shootists who'll fire a weapon at a bush shaking in the wind in case it's a world-class boar charging through the woods.

My list of friends, colleagues and associates includes just about the whole range of gun owning/control beliefs.

Some in my family have a large collection of weapons.  Some have none, or nothing more than a rubber band pistol and a BB gun.

The debate of who should own a gun parallels the debate of who should drive an automobile, in my opinion - you don't get to operate either without proper training and, if you're going to use it in public, an operator's licence.

I've worked with guys who've sworn a deep-seated hatred of the government, carry weapons at all times, and claim to have survival gear stocked up at home.  And I expect them least of all to shoot someone randomly - they're expressing their protective/nesting family behaviour in one style that's normal for their subculture/community.

On the other hand, I've worked with guys who think only nuts own guns.  Their behaviour, too, is normal for their everyday circumstances.

My mother, father and sister are all sharpshooters and I've won my share of frozen birds at turkey shoots.

Sometimes I feel like this is an annual event - a random shooting takes place in the comforts of U.S. society and everyone's feathers get ruffled, bringing me here to this repetitious blog entry about making sure the debate about gun control is sane and logical and doesn't degrade into emotional nonsense shouted from all sides.

Basically, a person who is unable to complete training on the use of a dangerous weapon (and note, I'm talking about motor vehicles here, not guns) should not be allowed to own or operate one.

Safety is the defining issue for the proper use of guns and cars.

If you're stupid enough to shoot yourself in the foot, you're too stupid to drive your 4x4 on public highways.

However, politicians are still allowed to stick their feet in their mouth in public - we can't legislate the poor taste and faux pas that substitutes for civility in publicly-elected officials.

Which reminds me, should rabbits be allowed to make fun of public officials who don't have a sense of humour, thinking they're sitting on a powder keg of a restive population that could go off on the advice of a wascally wabbit?