During the â??70s I studied Asian martial arts extensively. I would walk the streets of San Franciscoâ??s Chinatown and Tenderloin, often late at night, often alone. There were shootings on a regular basis but I was lucky to never have been near one although I missed the Golden Dragon Restaurant Massacre by only a few hours; someone I was acquainted with was in fact hit. I never felt compelled to carry a weapon beyond a small (legal) knife. I was young, strong, quick, and (over)confident. I did know that my teacher was packing a piece. I had no desire to own a gun. I always believed in the Second Amendment.
Fast-forward thirty years. I live in the suburbs with my wife and kids, now practically grown. I am older, weaker, slower, and less confident. Mostly, though, I have much more to protect.
My boys always liked to play with toy guns and learned to use a pellet pistol, cross-bow, and bow-and-arrow. My admonishments were to never point such a device at another person and not to be displaying real-looking toys in the neighborhood.
Now the people of San Francisco have voted away their right to own handguns in their homes. Now that guns are outlawed only the outlaws (and the outnumbered police) have guns.
Meanwhile I am compelled to teach my boys and my wife how to safely own and use a handgun. My wife, who has been interested in the subject for some time, seems to prefer a Walther PPK in 9mm all black. I decided my weapon of choice had to be a 9mm Luger. I now have a nice little shooter on the threshold of collectibility and I expect to get more variations in the future. Ultimately I will probably settle on a .38 special or .357 revolver for home protection but never expect to pack.
Russell
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