When I was in Atlanta, my godfather showed me how to load, unload and shoot a gun. Before I went into the shooting range, I was excited to do it. My mother, on the other hand, was ready to leave as soon as we pulled into the parking lot and looked terrified the entire time we were there. She's definitely the "lover, not a fighter" type although I'll never underestimate her strong woman radar. But anyway, my godfather (who is a veteran) was patiently teaching me about aim and what not to do. After I left the shooting range, I looked at my target and all the holes in it (specifically the one in the neck) and completely lost interest in guns and shooting ranges. Was it a skill worth learning? Absolutely. Does it make me want to go out and start collecting guns? Nah. Do I own one? You already know it's illegal to own a handgun in Chicago.

There are some folks who are really in an uproar about the recent news in Wisconsin that made it legal to carry a concealed weapon. Personally I'm not jealous.

When I leave my place, I don't want to think, "Man, I forgot my gun." I don't go anywhere without Lip Medex, (usually) my purse, an umbrella and a water bottle, but loading up a gun just doesn't appeal to me. I think a person has to be in extreme paranoia mode to even want to carry a gun around with them, and I'm definitely not feeling the idea of some of the idiots I run into on a daily basis being able to own rubber bands, never mind guns. I think some folks need to take a year of anger management courses before they even attempt to own a Firearm Owners Identification Card. People go absolutely ballistic about someone cutting them off while they're driving (true story, saw it today, middle fingers and yelling in a Target parking lot) so to add guns into the equation just sounds like a lot of drama to me.

Will it deter criminals from bothering "law-abiding citizens"? I seriously doubt it. Gangs, who notoriously have guns, fire at other gangs, knowing full well somebody might be strapped. So this superhero complex some folks have about how they're suddenly going to not have to deal with criminals is beyond logic to me. Yeah, you might have a fighting chance to live another day but then again you might not. One person with a gun and another person with a gun could just lead to both shooting the hell out of each other, and nobody wins that battle.

However, I do think that people should be able to protect their own homes. Nobody should be able to just walk into your home and you don't have a fighting chance of being able to get them out. When I was a kid, I came home twice to find out my own parents' home was robbed. (Note: When we first moved in, the neighborhood was quite a bit different than it is now. We definitely weren't prepared for that though.) Luckily the robbers left by the time I got there, but the incredibly uncomfortable and unsafe feeling I got seeing my home with furniture flipped over and stuff thrown everywhere was something I'll never forget. I certainly understand people who want to protect their own homes. I 100% agree with that. You come into someone's home and that's your fault for being dumb enough to do it. But it's the outside world where I'd prefer folks not act like we're in a cowboy film.