I get all of that and I personally won't own a gun. That said I also was brought up in a hunting environment. I don't eat meat myself, but many of my family and friends hunt for food. My niece barely goes to a grocery store between her gardening and hunting efforts.

My big thing is the hunters have to get a license, but don't have to demonstrate the ability to hit a target, or know the safety rules or even how to clean their weapons. Common sense says you can't drive a car without showing you can stay in a lane. I can't see why you can own a gun without demonstrating competency.

I can also see, but don't endorse, the need for personal safety. But again, the owner should have to demonstrate competency so they don't shoot their neighbor.

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I agree Laura, that people don't have to show competency in terms of skills or knowledge of gun safety seems madness to me. It seems like such a basic and reasonable ask in a country that has enshrined the right to own guns. But ALL the gun owners in my family, every single last one of them, would disagree with me on that one, and they live that belief by not keeping their guns and ammo in a locked safe, instead they keep loaded guns in various insecure places like by their nightstand and in their cars or on a rack by the door, etc.

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That is really horrifying, Burrell.

I remember well my dad always cleaning his rifles outside, and we never had a clue where he hid the ammo. There was one time when he was alone at our Otter Lake house on a hunting trip and he cleaned his rifle inside because the weather was awful. He ended up putting a shot through the wall and bed headboard. We mocked him about it for years because he was always so diligent about safety.

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they live that belief by not keeping their guns and ammo in a locked safe, instead they keep loaded guns in various insecure places like by their nightstand and in their cars or on a rack by the door, etc.

This makes me so very angry. Like, you may be fine but your're putting everyone around you in danger!

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Yeah, people need to treat guns like dangerous things and not like lifestyle accessories. If nothing else, if you have kids in your house at all, your guns need to be locked away.

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I own a pistol. It is secure. I'm a demonstrated good shot, and I trained with my husband, former military and cop and forest ranger. I think a lot of gun owners are idiots. I learned to shoot because I wanted to be competent with something that was terrifying and dangerous and ubiquitous in the area I live. I'm not going to be a good guy with a gun who's going to save the day, but I know what a gun can do and can't do. I didn't want a gun to be a mystery.

If a gun ban went into effect, I'd turn my pistol in. Until then, I'll keep practicing.

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 If nothing else, if you have kids in your house at all, your guns need to be locked away.

It's not just that, though. Guns are stolen and used in crimes all the time!

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I would also like to say that I know a lot of gun owners who take safety and responsibility very seriously.

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> my husband, former military and cop and forest ranger

I didn't know this, Connie. I've always thought Forest Ranger sounded like the coolest job, but I've read quite a few articles lately about how deadly / scary it can be dealing with people who bring violence / crime / guns with them to the parks.

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Yes, our park rangers have absurdly dangerous jobs. The Everglades are frequently used for landing planes smuggling drugs, people, and all kinds of bad stuff.

I've known way too many people that are responsible but still had their guns stolen. My back door neighbor 3 times! (and I have never been broken into, which shows some targeting there, pun intended) One time they knocked his dog out with a shovel (he recovered), another time they hauled away the huge secure gun safe. Of course after the first time they probably made return trips at intervals assuming the weapons were replaced.

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