Guns don't kill people; bullets do.

So, as The Misanthrope recounts above in "The Madam and Her Whores," the NRA is Big Mama and we are her Johns... or something like that. Here's my two cents, which are shiny enough (in my mind) to merit a separate post, and not just a comment.

I heard audio from DeLay's appearance at the NRA show this weekend in Texas (is anyone surprised by the location?), and he said that if more law-abiding citizens carried weapons, there would be less crime. Really, Tom? I thought about that for a while, and here's what I came up with:

1. Law-abiding citizens do not commit crimes, so they wouldn't use their guns for crimes. (One point for DeLay and Heston.)

2. Criminals are less likely to attempt to rob (etc.) someone who's packing heat. (Another point for the gun-toting masses.)

Now here's where I start to catch up on the tote board.

3. Most people don't know how to operate their DVD players correctly; most people would have as much knowledge about the usage of their new "in self defense only" device. I mean, come one -- no one reads manuals anymore, and I don't see the government mandating gun usage education for gun purchasers; we can't even figure out how to educate people about getting pregnant and raising children.

4. People with guns tend to use them. You hear a strange noise in the middle of the night, or someone suspicious-looking is peering in through the bushes, or that guy on the freeway cut you off and didn't even put his cellphone down when he gave you the finger!

5. The last time people could carry whatever weapons they wanted whenever and however they wanted we had murder, vigilantism, gunfights at the OK Corral, and Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven." (Then again, the OK Corral gunfight took place in a town that had banned guns within town limits... and I really liked "Unforgiven.")

Here's what it comes down to -- when people have guns, people get shot. Just because criminals obtain them doesn't mean we all should start carrying them; you don't eliminate the threat of an illegal activity by making it legal (except for marijuana and prostitution?). I don't want the government to tell me what I can and can't do, unless my actions in the particular area to be regulated affect my fellow citizens -- and gun ownership is one of those areas. Don't give us all guns; just keep them out of the hands of criminals.