Of course, in those rural environs, guns were perfectly legal to own and to carry around.
The parents would have gotten a visit from the sheriff if I had been in your place. Guaranteed. When I was growing up my Dad, who was an infantryman in WWII, taught all of his children gun safety.
Which is a major factor in my decision not to keep or bear firearms in what I consider inappropriate places. I do enjoy shooting at the range, both high power rifle and various handguns. I consider it a skill worth practicing. Now that my eyesight is declining I'm not what you might call competitive, but I do understand the various platforms and their advantages and disadvantages. Of course I also understand other technologies in the same terms. It is all in the intent and skill of the user, including an appreciation of the legal and social concerns. Assuming I am equally adept at detail stripping an M1911A1 as I am at the same task with a computer or a bicycle, which I am, and assuming that most people can't do these things, which they can't, my familiarity suggests that the only difference is the purpose that the technology serves. As a technology geek, I see no difference between a .45 (SAA, M1911A1, New Service, take your pick), a bicycle (PX-10, Heron, Schwinn, take your pick) or a computer (PC, Amiga, MAC, take your pick). If this list is about technology, as opposed to just computers, it might be more productive to discuss this in more specific terms. Rather than demonizing or extolling a particular category. For example, I might say that I found my Heron to be excellent for bicycle touring, but the added weight of the Macbook Pro and the M1911A1 led me to prefer the netbook and the Colt 1908. You could call me evil, but so far this discussion hasn't focused on appropriate technology or personal responsibility, although Betty did touch on those topics. A desperate attempt to get this back on topic. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
