Welcome to DouglasDeBono.Com, the Cyberspace Home of author Douglas De Bono

Welcome to DouglasDeBono.Com, the Cyberspace Home of
author Douglas De Bono.

Douglas de Bono is an excellent read and should not be missed by any fan of either thriller or military fiction. You will be left wondering just how much of his stories are real and how much is fiction.
--AuthorZone.Com Book Reviews

One of the best and enjoyable books that we have read in some time. Author Douglas De Bono, master of the intelligent techno-thriller... has raised the bar on the techno-thriller!
--Amazon.Com Book Reviews

Trigger Locks (The answer to nothing)

Imagine it is two o’clock in the morning and the window leading into your living room downstairs just shattered. The unthinkable is happening—someone is breaking into your home. You sit up in bed trying to remember where the portable telephone might be. Unfortunately, it is not in the charger cradle next to the bed, and then you remember is still downstairs on the couch. Even if you could find the phone and dial 911, it will be minutes—long minutes—before help arrives. Meanwhile, someone is rummaging through your house, and your family is becoming aware that something is seriously wrong.

This story can end in many different ways. It really depends on the decisions made before the downstairs window shatters into a million little shards at two in the morning.

This is not an essay about the Second Amendment or the Right to Bear Arms. Indeed, there are many people more capable of making the case for the Second Amendment than this writer. Rather, this is an excursion into common sense.

During the Clinton term, several schemes have been implemented under the ubiquitous banner of gun control.

The high capacity magazine ban: A high capacity magazine was anything that could hold more than ten rounds. This legislation was primarily aimed at the 9mm pistols capable of holding seventeen or eighteen rounds. Why is ten the magic number? Why not nine, or five, or thirteen rounds? The point is this is an arbitrary number designed to eliminate the appeal of the 9mm pistol. The effect was to invigorate new designs around the .45 ACP—a heavier and more lethal round. Handguns became smaller and packed a bigger punch, albeit, with a fewer number of rounds. This also spawned a lucrative market in the many high capacity magazines awash in the American market. Just like the one hundred thousand cops (who never really showed up), the high capacity magazines never really disappeared. One other little point, full size 9mm weapons are far more controllable than compact or sub compact .45 ACP weapons.

The assault weapon ban: Guns were banned from importation and manufacture because they look nasty. Such radical accessories like pistol grips, bayonet lugs, flash suppressors and detachable magazines were identified as undesirable and dangerous. Basically, anything remotely similar in form and color to an M-16 was listed. The effect was to inflate the price of weapons, because the legislation created a finite quantity. No one can explain the difference between a Ruger Mini-14 and AR-15. They shoot the same round, have detachable magazines and can accommodate flash suppressors. The Mini-14 has a brown conventional looking stock, and the AR-15 has black plastic nasty looking stock. Nasty looking guns are bad. It is legislation based on little more than whimsy.

Gun buy back programs: This is where tax dollars (the stuff the government takes for granted) are wasted on purchasing weapons no one wants anymore. Personally, I regret that I missed the one in my city. I have this ruined .22 pistol where most of the parts are broken, and fifty bucks from government does not seem too bad. Besides, that fifty bucks could go towards gun that really works. Seem like farfetched logic. Many people have turned in broken weapons and purchased new ones the same day.

Gun show loophole: To purchase a handgun in my state, I must apply annually for a purchase permit, fill out a Federal Firearms transfer form (which includes my social security number) and have the seller call the FBI. This is to make sure I am not an ax murderer. I go through the same rigmarole at a gun store. Where is the loophole? The administration argues for a seventy-two hour waiting period. The purpose of the FBI Instant Check system is to eliminate waiting periods. The only thing Instant Check appears to accomplish is to create a database of gun owners. Allegedly, the government is banned by Federal statute from maintaining a list of gun owners.

Trigger locks: The idea of one six year old shooting another six year old is frightening and tragic. We are asked to believe that trigger locks would have prevented this tragedy. Forget the fact that the child was living in a crack house, his father is in prison and the gun was stolen. The president is asking us to believe that criminals will be selective about which laws they break.

If you believe the gun control rhetoric, then you have gotten rid of those high capacity magazines and nasty looking rifles. You sold your handguns back to the government for a fraction of their value, and you have avoided gun shows like a bad habit. Finally, if you still have a weapon, you have locked it away in a safe or encumbered it with a trigger lock.

Gun safes are necessary items and at any given time, ninety to ninety-five percent of your weapons should be locked up. However, the point of owning a weapon is to be able to employ it effectively and quickly in defense of yourself, your family, and your property. It is popular to demonize guns. Remember a gun is nothing more than a tool like a hammer or saw. A tool can be used for good or evil, but it is people who make that determination.

Finally, there is only one question that really matters. Between the times, the window breaks downstairs and the cops arrive, are you ready?

Douglas De Bono / DouglasDeBono.Com
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

E-Mail readermail@DouglasDeBono.Com