I used to have a shotgun. I'm not a fanatic hunter or gun enthusiast. Growing up in Texas, it's just one of those things one probably has. Not too long after bringing our newly born daughter home from the hospital, I went into my closet and noticed the shotgun was gone. I asked my wife about it and she said she got rid of it. She said "We have a child and there will be no gun in this house". I voiced no objections.

Fast forward 22 years. Our daughter is grown and out of the house. The news is full of stories that just tend to make us feel we live in a less safe place. It has begun to worry my wife to the point that she feels the need to have a gun just to sleep at night. So, being a person of action she has acquired one. Also being law abiding and responsible people, she and I have taken lessons on gun safety and applied for a license. She doesn't carry it around with her and it is safely put away, but within reach should someone threaten us in the middle of the night. She is now content and able to sleep with a sense of security.

This story isn't about guns, but about choices. There are 3 things I would like to point out.

1. Responsibility - I believe we have demonstrated a good and reasonable degree of responsibility. Both in our decision to be gun free with children around and in how we have conducted ourselves in our decision to now be gun owners.
2. Time Changes Everything - 22 years ago, my wife couldn't sleep with the knowledge there was a gun in the house. Today, she can't sleep unless she knows there is one in the house.
3. Freedom of Choice - Our decisions have been an exercise in freedom of choice. I don't believe there is or should be anything more fundamental than that in a free society.

I understand that many innocent people meet a horrible fate at the hands of someone with a gun. But I also understand that banning guns is just attacking the symptoms and not the cause. I can understand this well because I have psoriasis. I was first diagnosed with it when I was 17. They don't know what causes it and the only way they have to combat it is to have you apply topical ointments. This treatment just attacks the symptom and not the cause. The result is that 40 years later I still have psoriasis. Banning guns will not stop violence. Banning guns will just keep law abiding, responsible citizens from the freedom of a sound night's sleep.

My own personal fear is that our freedom to choose is slowly being eroded in the name of our own protection. This fear is the primary driving force behind my political and social stance. I have Part 1 in the title of this piece because there are too many issues with too many examples to express my concerns and view point in just one article. So, this is going to be a recurring theme. It's also an attempt to show that I'm not always just a smart ass. I do have some serious concerns.