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FELONY?

I still have the old Browning shotgun
my father willed to me
and I pass it on to my own son
a bit before I cease to be

It's a semi-automatic style
stock and finish worn by his old hand
I hold it and it makes me smile
to think of him hunting the wild lands

I also own a rifle just for deer
I bought it used long, long ago
another semi-automatic, I fear
carried through rain and sun and snow

It's helped me feed my family
with the real free range meat
it shoots like it's a part of me
a hunting tool that can't be beat

But now some say that I'm at fault
my guns are monsters in disguise
auto-loaders fit for just assault
or murder under clear blue skies

They'd make of me a criminal
I've no right to own this type of gun
I think they're hipocritical
those "leaders" up in Washington

Style / type: 
Structured: Western
Review Request (Intensity): 
I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back
Review Request (Direction): 
What did you think of my title?
How was my language use?
What did you think of the rhythm or pattern or pacing?
How does this theme appeal to you?
How was the beginning/ending of the poem?
Last few words: 
@nd ammendment to U.S. constitution :"The right to bear arms shall not be abridged"
Editing stage: 

Comments

I have looked up the stats on deaths from shooting by guns in the States, your major killing machine is the Handgun, which is up in the 10,000 people per year, though it seems to be dropping a little, with other weapons around 3,000 per year which has been a stable number for many years.
Now we know the main killer is hand guns so your hunting weapon as you say should be left alone though better teaching as your Father would have done for you should be the in thing.
From an outsider though those handguns could be removed from the killing fields, it may save quite a few lives each year.
I find it very hard to walk around with a hunting rifle in a holster without being spotted.
Good quiet rant there Stan, Yours Ian.T

PS:- last years figures:- 51 gun deaths last year in the UK, 83 gun deaths a day last year in the US.
If you extrapolate up the UK figures by population, the US should have about 255 gun deaths per year, instead, it had over 30,000.
I think the 30,000 is a little high but those are the figures that are out there ?????

.
There are a million reasons to believe in yourself,
So find more reasons to believe in others..

I expect the difference has more to do with overall violence than choice of weapons though. It's the people here who need to change, not the gun laws. A big proportion of hand gun violence takes place in the larger cities most of which already have pretty restrictive gun laws . But the criminal element pays the law little attention anyway. The "stop and frisk" laws which are in place in some cities (in which the police are free to stop and check for illegal weapons possession) Do seem to do some good in preventing violence. But it's a fight against the ACLU to put such laws in place. They claim it's "profiling". And what the heck is wrong with profiling??? If you want to stop illegal gun possession, it's much more likely a young urban male, of any race, will be carrying an illegal weapon than some grandmother or mother in her mini-van. .........................stan

author comment

my father willed to me
and I pass it on to my own son

"And I will pass on----perhaps a better alternative. Otherwise good write

I'll give your idea some thought when I inevitably edit . I appreciate your dropping by.............stan

author comment

You've succeeded in stating a stand many
will not only agree with but fit into the same
story. I would hope that the powers that be
will not make us criminals, but it could very
possibly happen.

I wanted to comment on your comment,
"what's wrong with profiling", to think that
everyone from an area, everyone of a race,
gender or religion are one and the same is
what is wrong with profiling ... think about it.

thanks for the poem and the thoughts transferred.

Richard

I appreciate your visiting and taking time to comment. As far as the profiling thing goes, I think it's an excuse that too many people use in order to keep effective means from being used. EVERYBODY profiles. If one is searching for Islamic terrorists it makes little sense to search a Norwegian grand mother. If one is looking for gang members carrying illegal weapons it makes little sense to search an Asian . If one is looking for Aryan brotherhood members it makes no sense to frisk a black teenager. This is what I meant by saying profiling has its place.....................stan

author comment

What you said in the earlier comment you were referring to
the "stop and frisk laws" ... which does certainly go on if the
police are looking for someone in particular, but to stop and
frisk just because a person is black, asian or could possibly
be affiliated with a group (by way of colors or tats) just seems
to cross fourth ammendment rights that we all should have. I know I
was rousted several times as a young man because I had long
hair, stopped and searched on the side of the road for no reason
other than I looked like I should "have something" ... it was wrong
then and it's wrong now.

My first car was an old station wagon. More than once I had police shine their flash lights all around inside of it while I was parked at Mc Donalds. I guess they thought it looked like the kind of vehical a drug user or dealer would use. The right to bear arms has already been infringed upon. After all, the ammendment doesn't restrict Any type of arms. This was done as a public safety thing. So a bit of bending of the 4th ammendment in neighborhoods where drive by shootings and gange killings are rife (Chicago , Atlanta, and Detroit come to mind) might make for a reasonable trade off. Being frisked might be an intrusion but it's not that much more of one than being asked to produce I.D. and car registration at a liscence check point. Plus in my opinion it would go a lot further in stopping gun violence than requiring even more intrusion in purchasing guns by law biding folks. Is the 4th ammendment more sacred than the 2nd?....................stan

author comment

That's the same question I had for you. I defend our rights, all
of them for all of us, that includes everyone. I don't think bending
the ammendments are fair by any means. If they plan on bending
them, then THEY have crossed the rights we have out. It also is
against the fourth ammendment to have license check points but
the people have not banded together, drug tests as well, if the people
demanded our bill of rights upheld things might be different, but it
seems we as a whole accept these things because it doesn't include
the average law abiding citizen going to jail, but the guns ... that would,
wouldn't it, now everyone wants to talk about the bill of rights, I say we
have let it go to far already.

I think about everybody would agree that, second ammendment or not, there are those who have no business owning a gun. Everywhere that I'm aware of requires a background check already for the retail sale of guns. It is my opinion that the main problem is that the laws we already have are not being enforced. I seem to recall that thousands of people who don't qualify for gun purchasing are caught lying on their applications to purchase each year. the number who are then prosecuted for breaking this existing law is in the very low hundreds.

I am all for all rights being upheld. I also think the reason for so many mass killings by guns is the proliferation of gun free zones. All the mass killings I recall were in these zones (save the one by the jihadist on that Texas military base. I also remember a quote, by whom I don't know, which paraphrased "when a people give up their freedoms in exchange for safety, they wind up with neither." The recent explosions in Boston show clearly that this type violence is as much a result of the killers' cultures as the availability of guns. Maybe one of these days an answer will be found that will decrease the number of mass killings, but I doubt they will ever be completely eliminated.............stan

author comment

Hopefully one day the nations of the world will be able to embrace each other.
When we have cultures within our own countries, that will go out and kill their fellow man, then we have a very long way to go, will we ever make a commitment and walk any road without fear???
I doubt it, even our religions are against peace because they have lost the sight of what they are,
Yours Ian.T
PS:- One day we will walk with our brothers unconditional love, then there will be no more need for death itself....

.
There are a million reasons to believe in yourself,
So find more reasons to believe in others..

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