Nancy Giles On Guns

With a Frontier Conquered, Why The Need For Packing Firearms?

(CBS)  Contributor Nancy Giles has a personal opinion about this week's Supreme Court decision upholding a personal right to gun ownership:

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As far back as the 1700s, the famed explorer Daniel Boone said that "All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse, and a good wife."

Not my definition of happiness.

In modern day New York City, guns are a part of our life. People shoot and are shot almost every day, and a disproportionate number of those people are people of color. How do you deal with that?

I'm scared of guns, never played with guns, and jump whenever a firecracker pops. Gun violence is quick, devastating, and impersonal. Can't we human beings figure out another way of conflict resolution?

I played a cop in a movie once, and when I put on my costume and the big belt to hold my billy club and gun, something weird happened: I looked in the mirror - A black woman with a badge and a gun? Yeah, I was super-bad! I was "Christie Love," and Emma Peel on "The Avengers," and all three of "Charlie's Angels."

(I probably looked more like Deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show").

I caught myself posing with the gun and was stunned. What was I doing? Guns aren't toys, they're not sexy, and they're not some accessory. They're for real. I put the gun back in my belt and never touched it again.

According to the NRA, there are an estimated 200 million privately-owned firearms in the United States, including almost 65 million handguns. Good grief! Who owns them? Private citizens, and members of groups as varied as Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty, 126 Women State Legislatures, and Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.

I know they don't all think like Daniel Boone, and I wonder why some still hunt when you can get meat already wrapped at the supermarket. I'd like to understand them better.

The comedian Chris Rock had a brilliant idea that I think both gun owners and gun control advocates could agree with (or "agree to").

Instead of gun control, he says, "we need bullet control! I think every bullet should cost five thousand dollars. Because if a bullet cost five thousand dollars, we wouldn't have any innocent bystanders."

Sounds like a good start to me.

[santeelite]

"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." - Sigmund Freud

[kws1stright]

When will you allow comments to post?

[kws1stright]

WOW!!! How could a women who enjoys the benefits of personal freedom and derives a paycheck directly from the 1st amendment choose to attack the very fiber of the document that provides both? When the 2nd amendment is finally gone the 1st amendment, along with your job, will soon follow. Once again a liberal from the media is using their soap box to attack the foundation upon which they stand. Don''t worry Nancy, the gun owners of this country "Got Your Back" and will continue to fight diligently for your right to be an ID10T.

[wwoodswoman]

Nancy said, %u201DAccording to the NRA, there are an estimated 200 million privately-owned firearms in the United States, including almost 65 million handguns. Good grief! Who owns them?%u201D Well judging by the responses here, it seems that a good chunk of the gun-owning demographic watches the CBS New Morning Show. It''s sad when "news shows" ask totally unqualified people to comment on topics. In this case it made CBS look unprofessional, and they put Nancy in a position where she sounds ridiculous. According to her bio on her website at www.nancygiles.com , her area of expertise is strictly entertainment; not news or gun control or law enforcement or hunting or crime victims or any of the many other areas that would have qualified her to comment on this serious issue. I doubt that either Nancy or CBS is reading everyone%u2019s valid comments on this page, but I did locate email for both. Nancy%u2019s contact email is linked on her website and CBS News Sunday Morning email can be found by following the %u201CAbout Us%u201D link at the upper left corner of this page.

[idahohunter]

NoCalCazadora prompted me to respond, too. The reasons I hunt:

*Meat that is lean.

*Meat that is not farm raised - no steroids or chemicals in this meat.

*A way to connect with nature - I don''t mean nature as it''s seen at the city park, but nature as it''s seen when you are 100 miles from the nearest town of any size. That''s real nature - raw and untamed, and more beautiful than what many people have the good fortune of gazing upon.

*It''s natural. Animals, mostly, are hunters by nature. I choose not to ignore that.

*I can understand and respect life and death because I''ve seen it played out before my eyes - not on TV.

I don''t write about it directly as much as NorCalCazadora, but you can check out base camp legends to get a full feeling as to why I hunt. There is such a deep pull that it simply cannot be explained fully here.

[cazadora-2009]

Why hunt? Many of us have many different reasons, but these are my primary reasons:

1. I like eating food that wasn''t raised under cruel conditions and that ate natural food. That means it tastes better and it''s healthier for me. Nor hormones or antibiotics. And it has real flavor, not factory-farmed meat flavor. If you need further edification on this, check out Michael Pollan''s "Omnivore''s Dilemma" - you''ll change your diet immediately, either patronizing local farms, hunting or going vegetarian. Any of the three is a fine choice.

2. I like the deep connection to nature, the reminder that we are all part of the food chain, and the more honest connection to my food. I never waste what I kill. And I like exercising instincts that most of the human race has left behind. Contrary to popular anti-gunner or anti-hunter belief, it does not make you feel like a bigger person to carry a gun and kill an animal; it is utterly humbling. I''ve found hunters have far more respect for animals than people who don''t have this connection.

Ms. Giles, I hope you were sincere about wanting to understand us. As someone who didn''t hunt until two years ago, I understand how foreign we can seem. If you really want to understand hunters, look me up - "NorCal Cazadora." I write about it all the time.

[slow944]

I was very disappointed in Nancy Giles commentary this past Sunday. According to her 30,000 people die each year from guns. What about the 2-2.5 million people that use guns to defend themselves every year? The only positive commentary on guns that I heard from the media was from John Stocle(sp) on 20/20 awhile back. Every year I buy a combo hunting and fishing license because I know that I can do that little bit to help conserve wildlife in my home state of Texas. The cost of the license would almost buy a weeks worth of groceries for my wife and I, but I believe that everyone should help with wildlife conservancy. Do you do your part? Handguns are a valuable tool for self defence, because I don''t believe a 110lb female can go toe to toe with a 250lb rapist and win that fight. I''m not advocating that everyone have a gun, as is your right, but don''t deny me my right to have one for self defence, or hunting or just target shooting.

[tpatch4]

I was extremely disappointed by this piece on gun bans. Ms. Giles tends to present herself as someone who is very culturally aware. Yet, she clearly has very little understanding of my culture in rural America. In fact, I bet, given her comments, she has never even thougt about it as a "culture." We are not just a bunch of gun slingers running around killing animals for no reason. Hunting (I won''t even get into the self protection aspects) is something our ancesters have been doing for generations. It is part of our cultural heritage...something families do together with a great deal of respect for nature. It also involves animal population management so that we can maintain healthy herds and so much more! I understand that she has not had that experience - all she has witnessed is urban gun violence. But that experience is not universal! And she should fear guns. I fear guns too. That is why I use extreme caution when handling them and have been taught since childhood that they MUST be respected. Ms. Giles, before you make any more comments like these, please seek out some friends in the country...not just people who have moved there...but families who have been there for generations...you could learn a lot! And, do you understand why people garden??? Because they could just buy their lettuce at the store...

[fsilber-2009]

"Can''t we human beings figure out another way of conflict resolution?" A mugging or burglary is not a "conflict" to be resolved -- it is a criminal to be stopped. As for conflict resolution between competing criminals, they don''t care what we think -- if they did, they wouldn''t be criminals.

As for the gun violence in certain communities, if you want people to behave like Christians than you have to apply traditional Christian sexual morality. If you allow people to behave like savages in the sexual arena, the children who grow up in that community will behave like savages when it comes to violence.

[handymanhugh]

Ms. Giles: If you know nothing about firearms and fear them, maybe you should take a training course and learn about them. Maybe you should learn about the people who are licensed to carry concealed firearms. We ARE the most law abiding people on tne planet.
There are many people who have legitimate need to carry a firearm. I''m one of them. I am short, fat, old, ugly, slow, and disabled. I might as well have "victim" written across my forehead, and "easy Prey" stenciled on my back. Predators usually pick the easiest prey. I fit the profile quite well. Except that I have a surprise for an assailant. It''s not that I want to hurt anyone, but I don''t want to be a victim either. Remember when your life may be measured in seconds, the police are just minutes away.

[ace327gsp]

I was glad to see I wasn''t the only person offended by this topic. News is supposed to be un biased and this was totally wrong. Like to understand us hunters better? Me taking wild game birds and deer is my GOD given right. It keeps the population under control. You pay people to butcher your chicken nuggets, steaks, hot dogs etc.. They came from a living breathing animal. You just paid someone to do it for you. In my case I choose to take my game free of chemicals and preservatives. You should do some more research on your commentaries before speaking. I have guns, I shoot for recreation, sport, etc.. I have them for protection as well. I am disappointed in CBS for letting you speak your opinion about gun control without posing some good reasons for us to own guns. How do you think our fore fathers fed their families? They hunted and killed their meals. I would hope that CBS would do a commentary on the good side of guns/ hunting or atleast something more even minded.We have the right to protect our family as well and I will do whatever it takes to do so. Maybe you live in a big city where you can only pay for your food. Many of us live in the country and back roads and we shouldn''t be looked down on as bad people because we choose to use guns or bow and arrows to catch our dinner. I was just very disappointed in this commentary and I am glad I am not the only one to say so!Let''s leave the politics to polititians and news to news. Not your own opinion!

[kissmygritz2]

Dearest Nancy
Girl, I always enjoy your commentary, most of the time
I do not agree with, but giving us the exposure of how you other people think
BUT...on the gun info, you only have a "city girl" view.....my husband heard you! "she hasn''t done her research, doesn''t she know, that out in this part of the world WE LOAD OUR OWN BULLETS AND AMMUNITION"!
this has been going on, since this country began!
"GIRLFRIEND", I used to be a city girl, in the early 80''s, met my husband, who taught me, and am now a proud Oregon country girl!
there is sooo much more to "hunting", than just going out and shooting! there are rules, regulations,tag allotments, that are processed like the state lottery,governed by each of the states and federal fish and game departments not being able to draw a tag every 3/4/5/6
years......but, we eat for a very long time on the meat he brings home! you do not have exposure to our kind of people, down to earth with common sense, who enjoy NO CELL PHONE SERVICE, NO CONCRETE, NO BERRIES, the sign on our gate reads:
""we don''t call 9-1-1, we git-r-done!""
Bill ''n'' Peejay

[lrobey1]

I really enjoy watching Sunday Morning every Sunday, but I was SO dissapointed when Nancy Giles talked about the 2nd Amendment ruling. I am a retired female that owns several guns, that is who owns them. It was so biased I really hope you will do a segment on what legal gun owning people do with their guns. My friends and I target shoot every week. Several of them compete in various groups. Several do Cowboy Action, which is really fun to watch. Most of us have them for protection. I guess she never goes out alone at night or drives on an Interstate highway where it is dark and no one is around for miles. Until they assign a law enforcement person to ride with me, live with me, etc. How dare anyone take away my right to defend myself. At 5''2" I really do need something to help equalize a dangerous situation.

The media really needs to stop feeding the fear of guns and try to educate the public. The guns in my house are no more dangerous than the car I drive. Let''s talk about how many people are killed in car accidents. In drunk driving accidents, etc. If it were put in perspective people would not buy into the fear. Facts are a powerful thing, I would hope you station would try to use them. I think the number of viewers would increase if we knew we were getting the facts.

Please to some actual factual segments on the hobbies people do with guns. How many deaths really occur that our not drug or gang related.

[wildlifer4]

Then there''s this:

Next time you pick-up a steak at the grocery store, picture the place on the animal from where it was taken - then picture the defenseless animal and that wild-eyed look of terror in its face just before it takes the bolt to the head - then picture the habitat destruction that took place to give that animal a home while it lived. Does that please you?

Meanwhile, when I take a steak from my freezer, I''ll picture myself butchering the animal, understanding that there is no better meat in the world because I know its origin, venision is as healthy and delicious as it gets, and I respected the animal enough to take proper care. I''ll picture the hunt and animal as it lived and died, quite naturally because humans are natural hunters - just another product of evolution. I''ll know by evidence of 3.5 million years of evolution that there was nothing defenseless about this animal. It was, is, and will continue to be beautiful. I''ll know that I have done my part to prevent deer overabundance. This pleases me.

[wildlifer4]

Terrible opinion piece (as usual) - even if I shared the opinion. There is a glimmer of hope; Ms. Giles says she would like to understand why folks hunt. 2 quick answers would be: 1) wildlife conservation, and 2) healthy lean red meat. Not only do hunters pay for wildlife conservation in the U.S., but it is they who keep deer numbers in check, thus reducing deer-veicle collisions, Lyme disease, garden depredation, and forest degradation that leads to unhealthy deer and poor nesting habitats for many birds. Yes, killing deer keeps them and us healthy - for too many reasons to get into.

Know this: that pre-packaged meat you speak of comes from a real live animal - you killed it without pulling the trigger. Rainforests are slashed and burned, driving endemic species to extinction, in order to provide you with that packaged meat. Texas rangelands have been overgrazed for at least 100 years to provide you that meat. Taking local healthy meat from our own forests has the opposite effect - ecosystem and species conservation.

Hunting ties us to the land that is our life support system - it reminds us where we come from and what is truly important in this world. Killing a game animal reinforces the sanctitiy of life felt by the hunter. Pre-packaged grocery-store meat does no such thing - it has cheapened life in my opinion.

[kws1stright]

WOW!!! How could a women who enjoys the benefits of personal freedom and derives a paycheck directly from the 1st amendment choose to attack the very fiber of the document which provides her both? If the 2nd amendment is overturned the 1st amendment, along with your job, will soon follow. Once again a liberal from the media is using their soap box to attack the foundation upon which they stand. Don''t worry Nancy, the gun owners of this country "Got Your Back" and will continue to fight diligently for your right to be an idiot.

[topfrog1]

I hope the show is going to do a counter point on this topic. There is no one that can deny that there are not problems out there, but bands and restrictions do not work. We band alcohol and what did we get from that? More violence and crime than we had ever seen before. The gun is just a tool. It can provide you with food, a sense of security and the freedom we enjoy today. The problem is the irresponsible use of this tool that we need to talk about. The question is how do we as a society make the irresponsible use of a fire arm socially unacceptable? Capital punishment for any offence? I think not! Is it not true that unemployment and crime are related? Does education have a hand in there also? This is a much larger subject then you pretend it to be. Take your blinders off and truly look around you. We have people planting gardens to save money while others build malls and stadiums, all the while bridges are falling, rivers are flooding, and the made in the USA label is an endangered species. So do not be mistaken the time will come when each of us well have to pick up those guns and decide where to make a stand. We as a people have to take that stand and say as one that we do no accept irresponsible behavior. Can we all agree that murdering someone is unacceptable? No matter the choice of weapon; gun, knife, car, or even your hands. The gun is not the problem it''s the people we have become.

[armd_ctzn]

Responding to the title of this piece, alone, I''ll explain to you the need to keep and bear arms.

The whole "frontier" concept seems to frequently come from the lips and pens of those who oppose the concept of self defense. More frequently, however, the term "Wild West" is used.

Frankly, the "Wild West" wasn''t nearly as wild as today''s urban jungles. In fact, we still have the "Wild West" today, where men and women take care of themselves, and take responsibility for their own actions.

In the cities, however, where some people think life is somehow more civilized, people live in fear for their lives and safety, and cry for more police and more laws when that safety is threatened.

It''s not difficult to see that the most dangerous cities in the USA are the cities with the most restrictive "gun control" laws.

The "Frontier", on the other hand (where "everyone" has a gun), is peaceful and quiet.

The fact of the matter is that your cozy cities are the first frontier of today''s violent criminals, and restrictive gun control legislation simply makes the residents of those cities easy targets for the violent criminals that prey upon them.

So your home is someone else''s frontier, just waiting to be conquered. Will you defend it, or will you depend on the government to do that for you? If you choose the latter, I suggest you take a look at the track record of governmental success in defending citizens against violent criminals.

[armd_ctzn]

Responding to the title of this piece, alone, I''ll explain to you the need to keep and bear arms.

The whole "frontier" concept seems to frequently come from the lips and pens of those who oppose the concept of self defense. More frequently, however, the term "Wild West" is used.

Frankly, the "Wild West" wasn''t nearly as wild as today''s urban jungles. In fact, we still have the "Wild West" today, where men and women take care of themselves, and take responsibility for their own actions.

In the cities, however, where some people think life is somehow more civilized, people live in fear for their lives and safety, and cry for more police and more laws when that safety is threatened.

It''s not difficult to see that the most dangerous cities in the USA are the cities with the most restrictive "gun control" laws.

The "Frontier", on the other hand (where "everyone" has a gun), is peaceful and quiet.

The fact of the matter is that your cozy cities are the first frontier of today''s violent criminals, and restrictive gun control legislation simply makes the residents of those cities easy targets for the violent criminals that prey upon them.

So your home is someone else''s frontier, just waiting to be conquered. Will you defend it, or will you depend on the government to do that for you? If you choose the latter, I suggest you take a look at the track record of governmental success in defending citizens against violent criminals.

[weezill]

Criminals do not respect your rights. They have the belief that they can pursue their happiness no matter the expense to other people. Crime has been around since the beginning of time, and civilization has tried every method from public humiliation to execution. It just doesn''t stop them.
If another person intrudes on MY pursuit of happiness, especially to the point of trying to take my life of the life of a loved one, I have the right to defend myself against this intrusion.
I do not ever want to take the life of another human being. Nor do I want to die as a victim. But given that choice, I want the ability to protect my life and the lives of those that I love.
By taking the guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, you have removed their right of self-defense and given the criminal element a one-up on every decent man, woman, and child in this country.
Gun control does not work. It has been proven time and time again. Look at some of the cesspools that we have in this country. You know what cities I''m talking about. Some of these cities have murder and violent crime rates surpassing those of some states. Think it''s just a simple coincidence that those very same cities choose to disarm the law-abiding? But for some reason there are those that feel we need more laws.
Lets'' take a look at Great Britain. Their sweeping gun ban was introduced in 1997. Since the ban, gun crimes have almost doubled. Who do you think is committing these crimes? The law-abiding? Nope, guess again.