Under the gun, she was in control

Dallas Morning News | Jacquielynn Floyd:

"I don't know whether I'm ready to endorse Susan Buxton's firm belief that women should arm themselves, that they should be prepared to defend themselves, their families and their homes with deadly force. It's a personal decision that cannot be made lightly. But she makes a compelling argument. Her experience is hard to contradict."

Not hard to contradict at all. Go out and find a story about a 66 year old grandmother whose 7 year old grandson finds the gun granny keeps in her nightstand and accidentally shoots his 5 year old brother. Grandma says she's had that gun since before the boys were born and never had to use it. She almost forgot it was there. I made up the details, but stories like this are not hard to find. That's the trouble with anecdotes. There's a good story to support almost any argument. The complete picture is a lot more complicated.

A good case in favor of responsible gun ownership can be made. So can a good case against irresponsible gun ownership. The two cases do not have to contradict each other. Why does the argument have to come down to a choice between the gun nuts who want no limits on gun ownership and the anti-gun nuts who want to do away with all guns everywhere? Can't the moderate center in this country take back the middle ground in this debate?