I hope you all know me well enough by now to know I don't MEAN A WORD OF THIS. Personally, I think we should have restrictions similar to Ontario, where only a very limited number of tightly controlled hunting weapons are allowed in the hands of private citizens.
Here's what I wanted to post:
Should I buy a gun for personal protection? I'm concerned about scapegoating of the mentally ill.
Since I was diagnosed as Bipolar II, I've come to accept the fact that the world isn't always kind to someone with an illness that makes them somehow "different", be it physical or mental. I would probably be treated like crap by some members of "civil society" if I had been diagnosed with cancer, MS, or any other of a number of "physical" diseases/disorders. But definitely like crap since I have a "mental illness."
But since this school shooting, it's gone from just rude to downright ugly. Makes me concerned for my own personal safety. Some of the comments right here on DU concern me, I've had people tell me I should wear a scarlet letter, be on a registry, be locked up, have to move out of the house I bought and paid for and pay taxes on because I shouldn't be around people, too dangerous. And, while I do live in and work in very nice, affluent and safe communities, I do have to commute through a poor, urban area on a routine basis. As well as forays into the City of Detroit proper for work.
Sure, I had some "issues" with guns in my life. My father used to like to corner me in the sights of one when I was a teenager and tell me I was so much human shit that didn't deserve to live. Of course, according to him, I was the product of my mother's rampant promiscuity, since in his mind, deeply disturbed by years of untreated Paranoid Delusional Disorder, he believed that my mother had tens to dozens of "lovers" in her bed each and every work day while he was gone. So, he denied my paternity and tortured me most of my life out of hatred that sprang forth from that delusion.
Then, of course, there is one little "issue" that, among some others, landed me voluntarily (well, sort of, I wasn't exactly happy to be there) in the psychiatric ward for three weeks in September. Just remember, be careful what you say to a psychiatrist, tell them you fantasize once in a while about blowing your head off because you can't deal with all of the shit dropped on you as a kid, and they tend to overreact. No sense of humor whatsoever.
But, you know, I'm completely within my legal rights to own a gun if I choose. Form 4773 and all, I have never been in any court of law as a defendant/allegedly Legally Incapacitated Individual (in court a lot, actually, but that's just work). Never been arrested. Don't use illegal drugs or alcohol. Just my mood stabilizer medication, plus a blood pressure pill.
Should I go get one, before all of the crazy bleeding heart liberals get them banned? What do I need to do? Take a safety course or something first? Where should I look to buy one, mom and pop gun shop, or a chain like Wal-mart? I assume I need a pistol, not a rifle or shotgun, right? What about a concealed weapons permit? Should I try to get one of those, or just be content keeping a gun in the home?
Just remember, I have every civil right this country affords any citizen who is not under restriction for some prior action. FULL civil rights, and I won't let anyone take them away from me.
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