If we lived in a world without guns, it may be a better place. Unfortunately for all of us, that's not likely to ever happen. Guns have a long history in our world; much longer than I’d ever imagined. Powder keg projectiles have been around since the 15th century. Guns are the objects, bullets are the projectile, death is the end. It would seem to me, then, problematic to try and take the gun out of the picture. If we all agree one day to lay down our weapons, don't we always have to worry about who is going to next pick them up? Can you honestly say that you definitely wouldn’t be the first?

Guns are a sad necessity; but there is a fun, sporty, even childlike side to guns we seldom talk about. Unless you’re a member of the NRA or something like that, you probably don’t think tangibly a lot about guns. Guns have been a part of American culture since before the republic was fully formed. The American Revolution used bayonets and cannons to ward off the British. When settling a score in the Wild West, the cowboys used to duel at 10 paces. Train robbers used to hold up trains at gun point. Punk robbers in Times Square in the 1970’s New York City used to hold up their kitty with small handguns. Mobsters still use a snuff nosed Beretta pistol to force their agenda.

If you are interested in learning how to fire a gun, you can go down to a firing range and do it in a controlled environment. This is also the cheap gift certificate alternative to actually investing in a gun and bullets for a friend or loved one.

With all the news as of late about the sale of a gun to that Virginia Tech student, I wouldn’t be surprised if gun dealers got a lot more hesitant about selling guns to unlicensed persons and as “gifts.” While I don’t imagine the second amendment will ever be abolished, the mood in the country is a lot more somber today than it was recently about guns.

There are a number of sporty uses of guns including game hunting and duck hunting. Just don’t go out in the same tract of land with Dick Cheney; or if you do, don’t walk with him. In fact, as far as hunters go, he’s almost as good as Elmer Fudd.