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NRA |
When I first submitted the idea of writing about shooting, I was met with a room full of people shouting "Nazi!" and "KKK member!" But that's why I felt that I needed to write this in the first place. Target shooting, the NRA, and the like are all misunderstood; it's about time that this school gets a different view of this matter.
Understand, however, that this isn't about politics. I could write another article on politics. Instead, I write about the sport of shooting itself and the reaction of the people to its existence.
I'm proud to say that I'm a member of the National Rifle Association ("NRA"), and I'm proud to be a part of the sport I love. I go to the target range as often as I can and go to the desert to shoot several times throughout the year. I started shooting when I was six, completely supervised and with all the proper equipment, which includes shatterproof eyeglasses and earmuff-style hearing protection. Before I ever touched a gun, I was drilled with the rules of gun safety:1. Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction (i.e. if it were to go off it would not cause damage to people or property)2. Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.3. Keep the guns unloaded until ready to shoot.4. Always wear eye and ear protection.5. Keep guns safely stored and secured, so that they are not easily accessible to unauthorized people (most importantly, children).
Successful competitive shooting demands strength, hand-eye coordination, patience, stamina, and commitment. Shooters must practice slowing their heart rate and breathing control as to reduce as much bodily movement as possible. Shooting takes just as much skill as any other sport, yet people who play other sports at this school don't receive so much as a word against them. There are virtually no injuries in shooting sports, as opposed to the thousands of people who are injured every year while playing other sports. I follow the law when I shoot, yet my peers constantly harass me because many of them think that shooting automatically implies homicide.
Two years ago I stopped counting the number of times I've been called a Nazi (although in reality, the Nazis disarmed the law-abiding public so that the SS could terrorize the people without resistance - but that's another story). Now I'm not even fazed by it. It's actually pretty sad, that being labeled in that way doesn't generate emotion. Most teens I've encountered are too quick to judge and too unwilling to listen to the other point of view. The media portrays lawful shooters as either deer-killers or crazy Republicans, and the statement spreads. It becomes ingrained in people's minds, with little hope of setting things straight. I suppose that the lawful use of a gun is too "radical" for some people to bear.
There's no reason for the harassment and the stereotyping. I'm not a criminal, and neither are the rest of the people at this school who lawfully shoot. Arguably, we're less dangerous because we are experienced gun handlers and we know what can happen if something goes wrong. My fellow students and I aren't Nazis, we aren't KKK members, and we aren't fascists. We're part of a time-honored sport, that's all.
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