Here are some of my thoughts on guns. I would love to hear yours as well.

• Growing up, the only experience I had with firearms came at summer camp when we shot targets with rifles. I enjoyed it. My dad has several but always kept them locked up. Both my parents made a strong effort to tell me guns could be dangerous and to leave immediately if one of my friends ever pulled one out. I want to teach the boys the same thing.
• We have no guns in our house and never plan to. I don’t object to them in principle. However, since I have a wife and sons, I don’t feel comfortable having guns in the house due to the risk of accidental shootings. If I could somehow guarantee that only a bad guy would ever be shot in my house, I would get one for defense. Since I can’t, we look elsewhere for security.
• I will not teach my sons to kill animals for sport.
• I have no problem with legally concealed weapons. Although I have no evidence to back this up, I believe those who get concealed weapon permits handle their weapons responsibly overall. Many of my friends and relatives have permits. If they ever shoot anyone, it will probably be a bad guy who is likely to own a weapon without a permit. I’m actually glad to know there are armed good guys running around. Our “castle law” here in Texas makes me feel more secure and probably deters some burglars. Two of our closest friends carry almost all the time, and I feel safer around them. If some guy goes crazy and starts shooting people in church, Jenny and I will hit the deck, and our friends will send him to meet his maker.
• Because I want our boys to learn a healthy respect for guns and the damage they can do, I do not want them to have toy guns. Guns are not toys.
• I think it would be fun to go to a shooting range sometime.