Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

Yes, this statement is true. However people who want to kill who have guns are more efficient about it. On the other hand, I was raised with firearms, know how to handle them and believe they should be controlled but legal. I always slept well at home knowing Dad's 30-06 was close at hand. Nobody ever broke in, but since a 30-06 can kill at 3 miles, a criminal would have to run pretty fast to get out of range. Interestingly enough, a motorcycle gang in the U.S. almost found out this lesson from Dad the hard way, but that's a story for another time.

One time Dad was out hunting (with Uncle Clayton) and they got lost. They walked and walked, until they came out at the Burwash Prison Farm. It didn't take too long for them to get surrounded by armed guards who have them one and only one chance to drop their rifles. A lot of phone calls established that they weren't trying a prison break - they were just two lost hunters.

From some of my descriptions about Dad and guns, you might think they had a careless attitude about them. This is far from the truth. Yes, in their early days they did some stupid things, but they were not careless. On the contrary, they were stupid and well thought out. On the other hand, my Uncle Francis was once out hunting and saw a buddy of his on another hill so he waved to him. The guy had buck fever and started shooting. Uncle Francis took a 22 caliber hollow point through the stomach. He grabbed the kid he was hunting with and threw him on the ground, then popped off a few rounds over the other guy's head. The guy came to his senses and came running over. Uncle Francis almost died on that mountain. The guy who shot him went for help, and the kid he was with applied a touriquet. Uncle Francis lived through the surgery, which was a good thing because Francis's brother (Uncle Eric, who is really the salt of the earth) had announced that if his brother died, he'd kill the man who shot him. And he would have too.