Over at the Gravel Kraken, BenignMoose relays an anecdote in which some friends gave her funny looks when they realized she owned a firearm:
Gun ownership has changed the way I think about people. I didn’t expect it to, but I have become much more defensive, more concerned about what they think. Can I casually say something like “I think I’ve finally figured out why I keep shooting high and to the right…” or is that a part of who I am that I have to hide? Guns are one of those things that a lot of people feel very strongly about. I liken it to converting to Islam and then returning to visit your evangelical friends and family. I have thought about it a lot, but I still don’t know how all of my friends and family will judge me now that I’ve made the leap to gun owner. In my mind, I see it as a line in the sand. They will either accept me and respect my personal interests and choices or they will look at me and think of me differently. I’m not going to lie, I am worried.
For the record, I have nothing against guns, or gun owners (responsible ones, anyway). In fact, were I to list things that would cause me to change my opinion of someone, gun ownership status would not be anywhere near that list (nor, incidentally, would conversion to Islam). I personally am not a gun owner nor do I have any desire to be, but if you are a responsible adult who happens to have a gun, cool, I couldn’t possibly care less.
I agree with the overall gist of the piece, some folks will probably reach some kind of character judgment based on gun ownership status, and I think that’s silly. That being said, I take major issue with this (emphasis mine):
All I can say is I’m not a lunatic and I don’t want to hurt anyone. I bought a gun after all, I didn’t buy a weapon.
Yes, you did. A gun is a weapon. I don’t care whether you intend to use that gun to shoot a paper target or a deer, use it as a paper weight, or knock off a liquor store. The gun is still a weapon. If I try to enter a school or a federal building with a gun, the guard isn’t going to ask me whether or not I purchased it with the intent to use it as a weapon or for recreational target shooting. It is a weapon and will remain a weapon at all times, regardless of the intended use.
That, of course, isn’t to say that if you buy a gun that makes you a lunatic that wants to hurt someone, but a gun is a weapon, regardless. Acknowledging this seems to be very important, if you ask me.
520 Chestnut 
I don’t own a gun and have never had the desire to own one, and I personally know a handful of guys (they are all men) who like to shoot, advocate sane use of gun ownership, and I don’t believe any of them would ever use their gun(s) violently, or even “accidentally.” However, since a murder occurred nearby recently (in an area you’d think was the last place this would happen), I often think about buying a gun, taking shooting/gun safety lessons, and then wondering how different my feeling of “security” would be, as I had my gun safely stowed in a place only I knew about, etc…sorta like a very potent variation on Linus’s security blanket. If something goes wrong, it takes the cops 15-20 minutes to get up near our neck of the (literally) woods.
However, I’ve only THOUGHT these thoughts. I don’t feel actuated.
Interesting post, fine blog, 520 Chestnut!
I must disagree. A weapon describes purpose.
gun : weapon :: dog : pet
The fact that most guns are used as weapons does not make all guns weapons. Is an air rifle a weapon? How about a BB gun? A steak knife? A baseball bat? May I enter a federal building carrying a nail gun? Does that make it a weapon? Is it the fire that makes a gun a weapon? Are fireworks weapons? They must be because I cannot bring them into school!
Is a police officer’s dog a pet? They are except from “no pets allowed” signs. I wouldn’t approach a K-9 officer and mention how nice it is that he gets to bring his pet to work. Wild dogs certainly aren’t pets.
If a gun remains a weapon at all times, does that still include at a West Virginia Mountaineer football game (when fired by the mascot)?
Why is it very important to acknowledge that a gun is a weapon? What, specifically, is it about the gun that makes it a weapon for all time? Is it always a weapon because you say so? I think it is important to acknowledge that a gun is not always a weapon. A gun is an instrument, sometimes a weapon, sometimes, sometimes art, sometimes entertainment, sometimes confidence, and sometimes a statement.
I don’t agree with many absolutes but I also have a problem with the idea of there being zero absolutes(an absolute in itself!) as Jastonite is employing in his hair splitting argument saying that not all guns are weapons. Yes, everything can have a purpose other than what it was produced for. However, that being so does not negate the item’s original intention. A steak knife can be used as a weapon but it was made to cut the food on your plate. A car can be used as a weapon but it’s purpose is to provide transportation. Broccoli can be used as a weapon but it’s intended purpose is to be nourishment….
A gun was produced as a weapon, and not produced as a food cutting utensil, a means of transportation or as human nourishment. Whether or not it is used as a weapon does not disqualify it from being what it is, a weapon. Get over it, a gun is a weapon.
The context of this blog was Benign Moose saying ” All I can say is I’m not a lunatic and I don’t want to hurt anyone. I bought a gun after all, I didn’t buy a weapon.” But she also says this about their guns, “Not to mention the obvious fact that they serve as an extra line of defense should one become necessary.”
Hmmm…sure sounds like a weapon to me.
If it walks like a duck…