Dear editor:
Reading the recent editorial written by Cassie Craven (CSD 09/07/2024) I find many points on which she and I can agree. However, she left out one very key point that helps to complete the picture.
The United States Constitution, in the Second Amendment, and the Wyoming Constitution, in Section 24, establish that the right of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the state shall not be denied by government. There is an ample, and growing, body of case law that reinforces those declarations.
Ms. Craven’s assertion that these rights are not about deer or prepping is absolutely correct.
Our shared civil rights, all of them, may be considered by some to be handed down from God. Whether one believes in God or not our rights are, at the core, an entitlement of simply being human, and alive.
They are natural law and emphasize the entitlement individuals have to be treated with dignity and respect. By derivation, the right to defend oneself against violent attack naturally follows the rest of those rights and helps guarantee them.
But there is another absolute truth about our shared civil rights… they come to us with responsibility. In this context, responsibilities refer to the duty that individuals have towards themselves, others, and society as a whole to do no wrong while going about their lives.
Those responsibilities involve meeting our obligations, being accountable for our actions, and not negatively impacting the well-being of others who are doing us no harm.
With firearms, most particularly, the right comes with a massive amount of responsibility. When you hold a firearm, you hold a tool that can have the power of instant death. That kind of power can never be undertaken lightly or, worse, irresponsibly.
As a former police officer, and an instructor teaching firearms and personal safety, I have seen hundreds of examples of people acting irresponsibly with a gun.
Fortunately, not all cases end with injury or death, but all those cases end with the irresponsible person sitting in jail facing felony charges.
One of the dirty little secrets of personal defense is that whether you do it right or not your life will be altered forever. If you do it wrong the emotional, monetary, and human costs can be incalculable.
Searching Cowboy State Daily using the term “aggravated assault” I find 23 pages of stories, 178 results in all. Quite a few of them involve people using firearms irresponsibly.
One case in point, from July, in Green River stands out. I am sure that the gentleman thought he was in the right, that someone who had stepped into his yard uninvited constituted a threat. Turns out he was in the wrong, and his life will be ruined.
Just this morning a story crossed my desk about a council member in a small Colorado town who shot a 17 year old in the face who was looking for a place to shoot homecoming photos. The youth had climbed a gate at the council member’s home to ask permission to photograph.
All that happened was a trespass. There was no evidence that the youth posed a threat, lethal or otherwise, and the council member was arrested.
There are still some people who consider our state to be the “wild west.” Couple that with four generations, and counting, of the television era where simulated killings with firearms are so prevalent a casual viewer could easily form the mindset that all personal defense situations are easily resolved, and that using a gun is the way to do it.
One of my mentors as an instructor, Tom Givens, said recently “… take a nation of watchers, programmed to think guns automatically hit their intended targets, and you have our current situation.” Combine that, I say, with an attitude of “it’s my right and I can do what I want” that we so often see and the genesis of a bunch of those stories I searched up becomes apparent.
Ask yourself a few questions and answer honestly. If you own a gun,
· Do you know under what circumstances you can lawfully use it to defend yourself?
· Are you familiar with Wyoming Statutes on use of force?
· Do you think simply because you own a gun you know how to handle it safely?
· Can you deliver, when justified, precise fire under pressure?
· Do you know where you can, and cannot, carry a firearm?
If you do not know the answer to any one of those questions it would be a good idea to seek out some professional training. Even if you can answer yes to all, it is never a bad idea to periodically refresh your knowledge collaborating with a competent instructor.
Just like owning a firearm, receiving training is a choice. The good news is that there are professional, competent instructors all around the state who can help you live up to the responsibility of firearm ownership. The bad news is that the overwhelming majority choose to never seek out training. Without a basis of knowledge and experience it is my opinion that those who choose not to learn are setting themselves up to fail.
Owning, and carrying, firearms is a right, yes. Ms. Craven is correct, and I could not agree more. Protecting our loved ones and our schools, as she asserts, is indeed a righteous path.
But if you choose to own a gun, regardless of purpose, you must do so responsibly. A lack of responsibility can, and does lead to failure, and when it comes to firearms failure is never an option.
Sincerely,
Frank Groth, former police officer
Campbell County
