Nancy Giles On Guns

(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.