You are absolutely right. I am just responding to some of the arguments I have heard about the rights of hunters to have guns.

I actually have no problem with hunting to put food on the table. From an animal rights point of view I think the hunter has a better justification than the shopper who buys their hamburger from the store. There would be a lot more vegetarians if everybody had to get their hands bloody to have that steak.

Trophy hunting is a different thing altogether. I would think a true sportsman and conservationist would not want the best animals in the gene pool stuffed and put on a wall.

The 2nd amendment looks to me to be about citizens having the right to having arms so they can belong to a well regulated militia.
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

I think the only thing we have close to a "well regulated militia" is the National Guard. The weekend warrior militias we have in this country appear to be a totally incompetent group of folks that couldn't get into the military because of the physical or the psychological requirements. God save us from them.

I am not against gun ownership. I grew up in Wyoming and Oklahoma and had my first 22 at 6 years of age. Dad kept it for me and would only let me shoot it with him.

My question is "why does one need a gun?"

Is it for home protection? I would take a shotgun over a long gun or pistol any day. I always thought a burglar alarm that made the sound of a racking shotgun would be a better deterrent than any other alarm sound.

Is it for personal protection? Is your wallet worth your life? There are arguments on both sides but it looks to me like your odds of getting killed or shooting a bystander when you are carrying are greater than when you are not. When I look at the anecdotal stories of people saving the day because they were carrying concealed, there is usually something glossed over or omitted if you read the story carefully.

Neither of the above look like they have any relationship to a well regulated militia being necessary for the security of the state any more than hunting does.

I'm just tired of the chest beating justifications about the 2nd amendment when the real reason the loudest gun rights people want guns is so when they feel threatened, they will have the most efficient means to kill someone.
If you have been to a gun show and listened to the conversations you know what I am talking about.

While I think there are plenty of responsible gun owners, I think there are way too many who own guns because of their own feelings of inadequacy or personal powerlessness. When someone tells me that "God may have made men, but Samuel Colt made them equal" I figure I am are talking to one of those people suffering from there own feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy. I sure don't want them having a 50 cal. rifle or M14.