Armed and Dangerous?

The gun control issue is pushing people's buttons again.  Any time there is a major shooting of some kind it comes up again.  Where do I stand?  Well, in general I don't believe we need any more government regulation of guns.  I do believe we need some rules, but I don't consider myself well enough informed on the subject to venture an opinion about what kinds of rules are needed.  But there are some general principles that I believe are important:

1. The 2nd Amendment matters.  Having the right to own personal arms that are sufficient enough to protect you against criminals or tyranny is part of the foundation of our country.  It is not outdated.  All one has to do is read a little bit about how quickly a government can turn evil to realize that our founding fathers wanted to provide us with our own personal deterrent force.  (Can you tell I'm still working my way through The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich?)
2. Handguns are the great equalizer.  Don't tell me that a 200 pound thug and a little old granny are going to be even as long as she has her cell phone and can call the police.  It'll be over before the police are dispatched.  Or maybe she can hold him at bay with a baseball bat.  I've tried to take on my husband physically when he was practicing defensive tactics he had learned.  There is nothing I can do against someone who is that much stronger than me.  However, it takes no great physical stature to fire a handgun.
3. Limiting legal possession of guns only benefits the criminals.  Period.  If they want them, they will get them, regardless of any laws.  Shoot, with 3D printers, soon they'll be able to just make their own.  On the other hand, guns legally obtained are done so by people who want to obey the law, exactly the kind of people who the 2nd amendment was meant to protect. 

Those beliefs being stated, I don't think there's anything wrong with deciding that you don't want to own a gun or have one in your house.  Everybody should be free to make that decision for themselves.  Guns make physically ill.  Literally, my skin crawls and my stomach flip flops if I even have to touch one.  I don't know that one would save my life just because I can barely stand to pick one up.

My husband has great hopes to rectify this serious weakness (in his opinion).  Of course we have guns in the house-- he's a police officer.  And he wants me to know how to safely use them, which is only sensible.  So last night he tried to teach me how to hold and dry fire a handgun, just to get some practice.

Oh man.  I'm terrible.  My muscles ached after only a few seconds of it.  And my heart was pounding and I started getting panicky.  I know quite a few women who have been getting their concealed carry permits lately, and I've toyed with the idea of doing it.  But at this point, I've a ways to go before I can even consider taking a class!