Targeting guns

I went shooting today. Clay pigeon shooting. I had never done it before. It was freezing. I have very poor eye to hand co-ordination at the best of times and today I had a dodgy left contact lens. But I loved it. Every icy moment of it. It was scary and testing and completing exhilarating. And I even managed to hit some of the clays, thanks to the wonderful Richard who coached me, very patiently, through the session.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed myself because I worry about guns. I have always regarded them as fundamentally dangerous and to be avoided. It is not because I am unfamiliar with them. Compared to lots of people I know, I have been around a fair few guns. I have worked with armed police officers and military personnel who are trained to use guns to protect others and know regular folk in the USA who think they are a good way to protect themselves. You can probably tell what I think about the two groups. I just don't buy the right to bear arms position - that might have made sense in the 18th century but times have changed. There are an estimated 300 million guns in the USA, 33 people die each day because of guns. I don't get why a civilian would need to have a gun in their home or to carry one around with them. Ok I accept that certain types of guns are required by farmers, game keepers and the like. But I certainly don't understand why anyone needs to own an automatic weapon or assault rifle. Seriously why does any private citizen on the right side of the law need an AK47?

In the wake of the horrific killings in Sandy Hook, the USA has an opportunity to do something real, something serious about gun control. President Obama is trying to push through tough action (well tough in the American context) but some of the substantive changes will have to be passed by Congress and although the public mood seems to be shifting and the gun control supporters are winning influential support,  this will be a real struggle.

So how have I got the nerve to get so excited about my day shooting? Well, because Britain is different. Our attitude is different, i think we we have got gun control right. Gun clubs are well run and well controlled. Gun crime is relatively low and we are horrified by, rather than immune to, it. And I loved it!