World without guns

Editor,

When we hear of horrible massacres, we think nobody should have a gun. However, when I ordered a subscription to the NRA magazine, I looked forward to reading the articles of folks who had successfully defended themselves with a gun. Since I know of a few examples where guns saved lives, let me tell you about them.

One of my neighbors, short of stature and retirement age, would travel south to stay with his military son-in-law and daughter. He said, as usual, going for his walk he made the mistake of taking the same route every day. One day in a deserted area, four boys were waiting for him. He panicked but stuck his hand in his coat and there it was, his gun.

He did not pull it out but walked towards the boys with his hand in his pocket and they, seeing the situation, left.

Another episode was in Illinois. A neighbor lady worked nights, coming home one evening three carloads of boys curbed her. She did not point her gun at them but let them see it. They left in a hurry. In our North Dakota community we had a neighbor who when sober was a great neighbor, but when intoxicated turned into a bad nasty bully. He told a mutual friend that he would not molest my wife because he was afraid I would shoot him.

The wonderful thing about these stories is that no one got hurt, but without guns it may have been a tragedy for all.

John S. Erickson
North Dakota and Terra Bella