no, i interpret encouraging people to own a gun because the government will leave you on your own, in the cold, with no help coming, so your only recourse is to have a gun as a bad thing. i interpret telling people that Obama is going to take away their guns as a bad thing. i interpret telling people that the only solution to criminals having guns is more guns and even more guns as a bad thing. we are supposed to be a nation of laws, not gun-toting vigilantes ready to turn on each other as soon as the social (dis)order allows for it. we can keep guns out of criminals' hands without arming every man, woman and child. that is what i am asking for.

again, a first aid kit is a pretty benign thing. people aren't killing each other to the tune of 17,000 per year with first aid kits. criminals aren't buying first aid kits from illegal sellers on the street. let's keep the discussion in the realm of apples to apples.

once again, i am assuming you are all responsible gun owners and treat the weapons with the respect and care they are supposed to have. you are not (i assume) lobbying congress to allow things like the gun show loophole and preventing the authorities from enforcing the existing laws. it's like the difference between the republican party as a whole and its individual members. or for that matter, it's the difference between any large group and the individuals who make up that group. the group says and acts upon things that i find reprehensible, but the individuals who align themselves with that group are just regular people who i can disagree with but ultimately i don't have any major problem with them.

and before you translate this to more cognitive dissonance, realize that the NRA was not overly concerned with common sense restrictions to firearm ownership until around the time ronald reagan was shot. at that point they began the transformation to the group we see today, which believes that we should not limit access to guns but we should rather limit access to movies and video games. tell me which is more deadly, because i don't see people using movies and video games to kill thousands of people a year.

the dystopia notion is taking wayne lapierre at his word. let me quote him at his word, and you tell me whether or not i am drawing an irrational conclusion:

• "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"

• "After Hurricane Sandy, we saw the hellish world that the gun prohibitionists see as their utopia. Looters ran wild in south Brooklyn. There was no food, water or electricity. And if you wanted to walk several miles to get supplies, you better get back before dark, or you might not get home at all."

• "Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Riots. Terrorists. Gangs. Lone criminals. These are perils we are sure to face—not just maybe. It’s not paranoia to buy a gun. It’s survival. It’s responsible behavior, and it’s time we encourage law-abiding Americans to do just that."

• "We, the American people, clearly see the daunting forces we will undoubtedly face: terrorists, crime, drug gangs, the possibility of Euro-style debt riots, civil unrest or natural disaster."

• "Nobody knows if or when the fiscal collapse will come, but if the country is broke, there likely won’t be enough money to pay for police protection. And the American people know it."

• "We must never, never, never forget New Orleans, ... The equation is always the same -- where there are good people and bad people -- the good people only win if they are armed."

the NRA has perpetuated the myth that "good guys with guns" is the pinnacle of human existence. all i am asking for is that we put some limits on the buying and selling of guns so that it is harder for people who should not have them to get them.