On the recent anniversary of the Las Vegas massacre I am reminded how tragic it is that assault weapons are a ubiquitous part of our society. At one time they were in my mind appropriately banned. They are weapons of war not recreational devices for civil society. I say this in view of my past life as a hunter growing up using rifles and shotguns to stalk game. I had safety training at an early age and drilled in my psyche, was never point your gun at any person!
So it is a dilemma for me that one needs a gun if they are not hunter or a marksman. The thought of living in a society where everyone is packing either concealed or otherwise abhors me. To me that is living in fear! I recognize many people in the USA have a different view. However, what a price we pay in lives snuffed out by enraged gunmen and also so many gunshot injuries. As a nation statistics show rampant loss of life and limb compared other countries with stricter gun control. Statistics do not lie. I am blessed to have not lost a loved one from gun violence. However a high school classmate has lived most of his life with mental handicap from careless use of a pistol.
If you have read this far you probably are wondering how this connects with skiing? Well, I am not sure either. I would like to speculate that those of us who enjoy skiing are less likely to have the need to own an assault weapon or pack a pistol. After all we already have some ski poles! If we have a conflict we can duel with our ski poles! Wouldn't that be a much better society? I guarantee taking out our aggressions with ski poles would result in far fewer deaths.
