Guns involve feelings of safety

Another disturbing broadcast. The gunman's record is chilling: 10 dead, three wounded. Tuesday brought the fate of the sniper's latest victim, a bus driver. Oct. 2 heralded the beginning of a three-week cold and calculated execution rampage of a lone sharp shooter on the prowl in the Washington area these past three weeks. This lone sniper has managed to unsettle America with his shooting spree solo. And he has managed to unsettle me as well.\nFollowing the chilling events in Washington, the news these days has made me distrustful with regards to gun ownership and legislation. How should one feel about the gun legislation in this country?\nMy first reaction to firearms would be to ban guns period. But with approximate calculations from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms that roughly 223 million guns having been made available in the U.S. during the period 1899 to 1993, executing a total ban would seem a bit over zealous.\nOn the other hand, private firearms possession is regarded by many as a fundamental component of the American heritage of freedom and countless numbers even believe that owning a gun can prevent crimes and saves lives by offering protection.\nIndiana dear has one of the more lenient policies regarding gun laws. The Institute for Legislative Action of the National Rifle Association of America illustrated some interesting facts with regard to who owns which handgun or what calibre rifle. Here in Indiana there is no required purchasing permit, no firearm registration and no licensing of owners. The only obligation is a permit to carry handguns. Did I read this correctly? Rifles and shotguns are allowed to be carried around legally? Isn't the Washington sniper using what is believed to be a high-powered hunting rifle? \nOne little European country sets a fine example of how a society can live with firearms. Not only brimming with watches and the sound of music, Switzerland is overflowing in firearms with 1.3 million guns located in households country-wide. Although not immune to the reaches of armed discontented citizens either, with the killing of 14 people in Parliament in 2001 to prove that apparently Switzerland has a strict and mature attitude. A couple million more residents and only 47 homicides in 2001 compared to the 1999 Indiana figures of 271 homicides (NRA-ILA) there is definitely a means to live with firearms and feel the added protective benefits thereof.\nWhile that viewpoint clashes with Indiana's, I now see myself agreeing reluctantly. Expanding my viewpoints to accommodate the fact that there are literally thousands of guns in circulation, I still believe gun legislation should at least include some form of stringent control. I wouldn't want to be the only one without the added comfort of having some form of "protection" if the rest of the country has a gun in house. And that is how it appears to be here in the States. My attitude has admittedly changed with the perception that if others are able to feel a sense of perceived safety by means of gun ownership, I have to be honest and testify that I do too.