Absolutism about gun ownership is irresponsible

     As a responsible gun owner and sportsman who has enjoyed target shooting for many years, I am offended by those who assume that I must be some kind of throwback to prehistory.
     If you don't like guns and don't want to be around them, fine. That's your right. If you are afraid of guns, good for you; a healthy respect begins with a little fear of that which can be abused.
    But I encourage people who fear guns to learn more about the art and history of firearms, so they can deal with their apprehensions in constructive ways.
     I do not believe that everyone should own a gun. I do not believe that anyone who does is dangerous.  We live in a free choice society, and everyone is entitled to their legal pursuits.
     But there is something amiss with a culture that will not even discuss restrictions on general availability of certain weapons and ordnance -- ammunition. Especially when those who do broach the subject are immediately attacked by the most ardent supporters of gun ownership.
     You know you have a problem when an organization like the National Rifle Association figuratively puts a target on any elected official who suggests that assault weapons should be less accessible than more conventional guns used in target shooting, hunting, and competition shooting.
     You know you have a problem when any attempt to limit certain kinds of ammunition sets of disinformation campaigns about how the government is attacking the private gun owner by making ammo hard to get.
     That argument was proven false with the revelation that the Aurora, Colorado assassin had 6,000 rounds of ammo shipped to him from on-line orders.
     In all my years of shooting shotguns, pistols and rifles, I have not set off 6,000 rounds.
     With that much ammo, I could enjoy a day a week at the range for more than three years. This whacko got that much in a matter of weeks.
     Automatic weapons and high-velocity bullets should be harder to get and controlled by government. Period. Arguments that we the people arm ourselves to protect us from a government gone rogue are as out of date as the revolutionary war tri-corner hat.
     Most shooters I have known deserve the right to own exotic arms. They should be allowed to enjoy shooting new ammo, so long as it does not wind up in the hands of people who would use them against the police officers in protective vests.
     To enjoy the right to shoot, shooters should be willing to participate in a system that ensures that only qualified and responsible sportsmen have access to certain technology.
     If not, why not let anyone stockpile nuclear bombs or chemical weapons, so long as they have not yet opened up in a mall or movie theater full of innocent people?
     If I want respect as a shooter, I need to be willing to at least discuss a better way than what we have not.