Are You Afraid Of Me? You Shouldn’t Be.
by Mike Romo
[email protected]

Are you afraid of me, you shouldn’t be since I am just
the average, law abiding American citizen. I am
married and have a wonderful child. I work in the area
of public safety as a fire fighter. I own my own house
and a car and truck. My two dogs are very well
behaved, although a little on the plump side as they
sometimes get treats just for being themselves. I go
to church every week, and have done so since I was a
small child. I attended college, joined a fraternity,
and graduated with a slighly better than average GPA.
Who am I, you may ask? I am your next door neighbor
who sometimes forgets to take his trash can back up
his driveway. I am your co-worker, the one who almost
always drops a quarter to two in the coffee kitty. I
am the guy who drives the snow plow, or the garbage
truck, or the fire engine. I’m just an ordinary guy. I
also enjoy hunting and shooting very much. I own
several guns, many of which I take out as often as I
can to practice with. I carry a gun with me almost all
the time, and when I get the chance, I will obtain a
concealed carry weapons permit.

You see, I am just an ordinary, honest citizen who
feels that we all have the right to defend ourselves
and our families from those who would seek to do us
harm. I am an avid outdoorsman who loves to hunt
various game animals. I hunt because I enjoy the
feelings I get from being out among nature and from
taking game that is both difficult to harvest and
healthy and delicious to eat. I would glady feed my
family from nature if it were economical to do so, I
just can’t afford to hunt as often as I would need to
in order to harvest my own meat. I enjoy the
camaraderie of being in the wild with my neighbor and
our dogs as we pursue ducks and geese. I enjoy walking
the fields in search of quail and pheasant. I would
someday love the chance to safari in africa and pursue
dangerous game like cape buffalo and lion.

My daughter is still too young to enjoy the shooting
sports with me, but already she is developing a love
for the outdoors and for going on walks with the
family and the dogs. She just loves to experience new
things, and she doesn’t seem to be afraid. This is a
blessing in disguise, not a trap as some might
believe. She isn’t afraid, so she will be able to
experience new things under my guidance so that she
will enjoy them. Her first gun won’t be a twelve gauge
shotgun, it’ll probably be my old Crosman BB and
pellet rifle, or maybe a rubber band pistol.
Regardless of what her first “firearm” turns out to
be, she will be taught the basic rules of firearm
safety and be expected to follow them at all times.
She will know that all guns are always loaded and that
she is never to point them at sometime she is not
willing to destroy. She will also know that her finger
is only to be placed on the trigger after she has
positioned the sights on her target. She will consider
what is behind her intended target, because once a
bullet is fired, it can never be recalled. She will
know not to touch ANY gun without proper adult
supervision, and she will be shown never to be afraid
to tell me if her friends handle guns unsafely. She
will also know that dad’s guns are always locked up in
the safe.

My wife is a hard working mother who is also quite
adept at marksmanship. She is not afraid of guns, she
holds them with the highest of respect. She carries
her pistol quite often, and will also obtain a
concealed carry permit when our new law takes effect.
She believes that we, as a society, have a right and
responsibility to our children to protect them from
harm and that means educating them on safe behavior as
well as learning how to handle firearms safely.

So you see, I am just an ordinary family man who
belongs to a church, a union, Ducks Unlimited, NRA,
gives to many charities, plays with his daughter,
drives an ordinary truck, and most importantly
believes in parenting as a full time job requiring the
utmost care and patience. I pay my taxes willingly. I
contact my elected officials regularly and share my
opinions and desires with them in a respectful manner.
I purchase merchandise over the internet. I could be
anyone you know. Now that we have established what I
am, I will go over a little of what I am not.

I am NOT a felon, a drug user or abuser, a criminal
with no regard for the laws of this land. I am NOT a
mentally deficient person. I have NEVER renounced my
US citizenship, nor will I ever. I am NOT a racist nor
am I prejudiced against any religion, race, color,
gender, lifestyle, or anyone who is “different” than
me and my family. I have no desire to harm anyone. I
have no desire to steal from or assault anyone. I am
NOT a danger to anyone in paticular nor am I a danger
to society. I am therefore, most importantly, someone
NOT to be afraid of.

I ask now that you please remember that I personify
the typical responsible, law abiding, honest citizen
of America who chooses to own firearms and use them
for sporting and recreational purposes. I choose to
carry one in the event that someone attempts to harm
me or my family. I am one who follows the law and who
believes that this country was founded on our freedoms
for the honest people, and punishment for the criminal
people. I am not someone who you should be afraid of,
in fact, I would rather enjoy it if I lived next door.

Copyright 2001, Mike Romo [email protected]

This story may be distributed freely providing proper
citation of author is included