[Originally published in August [and again in December 2012] after the mass murders in Colorado; since then the Oregon mall shootings and  the murder of many elementary school children in Connecticut, and now (June 2016) the Orlando murders.]

And once again (October 2017) the Las Vegas murders (the current record holder). [see comment below]

We always had guns on the farm where I was raised. Because of a miscommunication I got a rifle of my own when I was 10 years old. And then like the kid Joey in the movie “Shane” I was not allowed any ammunition until my parents thought it appropriate. (The miscommunication? Mom had asked her son-in-law to purchase a 22 for a Christmas present. He did. He thought it was for me and so when he delivered it he immediately showed it to my step-father, the intended recipient.)

So, my step-father showed me how…