To Buy a Gun is to Opt for Temptation

   For all those of you who say a gun is just a piece of metal, unable to do a thing on it's own, I come to you with a thought.

   That inanimate object might have more influence on you than you would at first consider, and, I'm talking an influence that is . . .  not good.

   Any of a man's toys influence who he becomes. Whatever he partakes of -- whether it be food, hobbies or whatever -- it influences him.

   So, why wouldn't a gun?

   A gun can sit on the shelf (or in a locked safe), waiting for it's moment to protect you, and do you no harm at all. Very possible.

   But, a gun has uses. It can be used for hunting, for skeet shooting, . . . and for harming other people. It is from this list of possible uses, that possible influences come. 

   And, we know the possible things that can be done with a gun are not all good.

   One of its abilities is the the ability to intimidate. Place that gun in someone's face, and they are going to do whatever you tell them. So, let's say you and a family member are arguing about what ought to be done and you're feeling really strongly about it, and you remember you have that gun. How easy will it be to pull that gun out and suggest to the other person that they do precisely what you tell them?

   From all the things that can be achieved with a gun, we can choose the things we will do with it. Each of them can become a temptation. Not everyone is tempted equally, of course, and many yield to the negative temptations not at all, not even getting so close as to even consider that those things are temptations.

   But, tell me, with such a large segment of our population owning guns, that they do not influence for evil many, many people. By the nature of the beast -- by the nature of the things a gun can do -- this will happen.

   Freedom includes the freedom to limit our own temptations. A man doesn't need to go to a strip joint to see if he is capable of keeping his eyes closed during the show. We might be placed on earth to experience all temptations, but that doesn't mean you trot down to the bar to test whether you will be able to resist a beer.

   The wise man exercises his freedom not just by resisting temptation, but by choosing to not even put himself in the path of temptation.

   So, a gun being the tool by which so much evil can be done, if you don't need it, why would you ever want one around?