Here's the email I got today from Jake and thought I'd share;
"Have you ever heard a large bell ring? The sound is rich, unmistakable, and carries for miles. I remember many a quiet summer afternoon hearing a bell shatter the peaceful silence to signal lunch time for someone far away. As you read this, I want you to try to envision that sound. There is a saying that once a bell has rung, you can’t un-ring it. Over the last few days, this saying has come to my mind time and time again.
As I’m sure you have heard or read, since the most recent school shooting there has been a massive push for bans on AR-15 style rifles. I have a great and dear friend who does not think the way I do. He supports bans on guns. He posted something on social media that brought this all to my mind. He said something to the effect of, “To those who love guns I ask, stop loving guns and start loving people.” To which I replied, “I do love people. That is why I believe in individual ownership of firearms.”
I do not love guns. I love people. I have a wonderful wife and six amazing kids. I have friends and family all over the world. They are who I care about. I wish I never had to worry about violence or crime directed towards my family and friends. If guns never existed, there would be no worries about gun violence. However, guns do exist. Lots and lots of them. The days of not having to worry about our family and friends being murdered are over. That bell has been rung. And there “ain’t no way to un-ring it.” If you believe that banning them will bring back those millions of AR-15s that were made over the last decade and a half, you live in a fantasy land. Gun bans won’t work in America. We are different than anywhere else in the world. I can hear those skeptics screaming at the computer saying, “But Australia banned guns and they don’t have mass shootings anymore!” Well, setting aside Australia’s higher violent crime rate, Australia has only 20 million people on the entire continent. The United States has 325 million people and more guns than there are people. Yes, that is right, there are more guns in the US than there are people. No other country that has banned guns had anywhere near either number. It is an unrealistic view of the world to believe that banning guns in the US will solve or help with the murders and violent crime in this country. Let me say this again, I do not love guns. But I recognize that we live in a world where they exist and we aren’t going to get rid of them. And if we tried to get rid of them more people will die in the ensuing civil war than are killed in violent crime. We tried getting rid of alcohol once and lots of people died and good innocent Americans suddenly became criminals. There is no reason the same thing would not happen with firearms. So, because I love people, I support the individual ownership, use, and carrying of guns.
Because we live in a world where there are guns, a noble and proper use of a gun is for self-defense and defense of others. That is its valid purpose. In order to do that proficiently and safely, training and competition are excellent hobbies and entertainment. Yes, it is okay to enjoy firearm ownership and have fun with them and not be a murderer. That is why I can, in good conscience, say that I enjoy firearms. I like having the ability to defend myself and my family and I enjoy becoming proficient at using firearms. It is okay to enjoy being skilled at defending yourself. I would argue that the more dangerous mindset is the one where someone believes that they are safer by ignoring the fact that guns exist and walk around hoping and wishing that they would go away.
We cannot change the way people act or feel by making a law. Evil people will continue to be evil after a ban is passed. The only people we can control by making a law is those who are already inclined to keep the laws. And those people are not any more dangerous with or without a gun. I own firearms because I know that I can’t depend on government or anyone else for my protection. I heard the bell ring. And it doesn’t do any good to wish I could go back and un-ring it. Instead, we need to go forward. We need programs or groups that teach the value of human life. The true tragedy in America is the proliferation of blame and justification. For too long we’ve been taught to never accept the consequences of our actions. Our kids need to hear the truth again. That nobody is to blame for our sadness but ourselves. We live in a first world country where we have way more to be happy about than anywhere else in the world yet we have people running around playing the victim. I’ve lived in a third world country and saw that people can be happy in any circumstance so long as they accept that life is what it is and you don’t need everyone on Facebook to love you to be worthwhile. So, to those who say to me, “stop loving guns, and start loving people,” I say this, “stop loving yourself, and start loving others.” Don't try to ignore the fact that guns and evil exist. Make yourself someone who will stand up against the evil in the world and accept that you might need to learn how to use a gun to do so.
P.S. this is the condensed version of what I had originally written and planned. I realized after about three pages that I had an entire book’s worth of arguments and counterarguments that would take several pages each to cover. So, if you read this and you have any questions or arguments against what I said, please feel free to ask me about them. They just aren’t in this email. "
Jake Wilcox
"Have you ever heard a large bell ring? The sound is rich, unmistakable, and carries for miles. I remember many a quiet summer afternoon hearing a bell shatter the peaceful silence to signal lunch time for someone far away. As you read this, I want you to try to envision that sound. There is a saying that once a bell has rung, you can’t un-ring it. Over the last few days, this saying has come to my mind time and time again.
As I’m sure you have heard or read, since the most recent school shooting there has been a massive push for bans on AR-15 style rifles. I have a great and dear friend who does not think the way I do. He supports bans on guns. He posted something on social media that brought this all to my mind. He said something to the effect of, “To those who love guns I ask, stop loving guns and start loving people.” To which I replied, “I do love people. That is why I believe in individual ownership of firearms.”
I do not love guns. I love people. I have a wonderful wife and six amazing kids. I have friends and family all over the world. They are who I care about. I wish I never had to worry about violence or crime directed towards my family and friends. If guns never existed, there would be no worries about gun violence. However, guns do exist. Lots and lots of them. The days of not having to worry about our family and friends being murdered are over. That bell has been rung. And there “ain’t no way to un-ring it.” If you believe that banning them will bring back those millions of AR-15s that were made over the last decade and a half, you live in a fantasy land. Gun bans won’t work in America. We are different than anywhere else in the world. I can hear those skeptics screaming at the computer saying, “But Australia banned guns and they don’t have mass shootings anymore!” Well, setting aside Australia’s higher violent crime rate, Australia has only 20 million people on the entire continent. The United States has 325 million people and more guns than there are people. Yes, that is right, there are more guns in the US than there are people. No other country that has banned guns had anywhere near either number. It is an unrealistic view of the world to believe that banning guns in the US will solve or help with the murders and violent crime in this country. Let me say this again, I do not love guns. But I recognize that we live in a world where they exist and we aren’t going to get rid of them. And if we tried to get rid of them more people will die in the ensuing civil war than are killed in violent crime. We tried getting rid of alcohol once and lots of people died and good innocent Americans suddenly became criminals. There is no reason the same thing would not happen with firearms. So, because I love people, I support the individual ownership, use, and carrying of guns.
Because we live in a world where there are guns, a noble and proper use of a gun is for self-defense and defense of others. That is its valid purpose. In order to do that proficiently and safely, training and competition are excellent hobbies and entertainment. Yes, it is okay to enjoy firearm ownership and have fun with them and not be a murderer. That is why I can, in good conscience, say that I enjoy firearms. I like having the ability to defend myself and my family and I enjoy becoming proficient at using firearms. It is okay to enjoy being skilled at defending yourself. I would argue that the more dangerous mindset is the one where someone believes that they are safer by ignoring the fact that guns exist and walk around hoping and wishing that they would go away.
We cannot change the way people act or feel by making a law. Evil people will continue to be evil after a ban is passed. The only people we can control by making a law is those who are already inclined to keep the laws. And those people are not any more dangerous with or without a gun. I own firearms because I know that I can’t depend on government or anyone else for my protection. I heard the bell ring. And it doesn’t do any good to wish I could go back and un-ring it. Instead, we need to go forward. We need programs or groups that teach the value of human life. The true tragedy in America is the proliferation of blame and justification. For too long we’ve been taught to never accept the consequences of our actions. Our kids need to hear the truth again. That nobody is to blame for our sadness but ourselves. We live in a first world country where we have way more to be happy about than anywhere else in the world yet we have people running around playing the victim. I’ve lived in a third world country and saw that people can be happy in any circumstance so long as they accept that life is what it is and you don’t need everyone on Facebook to love you to be worthwhile. So, to those who say to me, “stop loving guns, and start loving people,” I say this, “stop loving yourself, and start loving others.” Don't try to ignore the fact that guns and evil exist. Make yourself someone who will stand up against the evil in the world and accept that you might need to learn how to use a gun to do so.
P.S. this is the condensed version of what I had originally written and planned. I realized after about three pages that I had an entire book’s worth of arguments and counterarguments that would take several pages each to cover. So, if you read this and you have any questions or arguments against what I said, please feel free to ask me about them. They just aren’t in this email. "
Jake Wilcox