Opinion: Look before you shoot
By Marjorie “Slim” Woodruff, High Country News
I am getting tired of being shot at. The perpetrators may not realize they are shooting at me, but that only makes it worse.
People in the Wild West like to carry their guns with them when they venture into the outdoors. So far, so good. Problems arise when they get bored, pull out said guns and start plinking away at various objects. Shots from a rifle may travel more than a mile. The shooters cannot actually see that far.
Hiking in the national forest and hearing the boom of a high-powered rifle — one knows not where — is disconcerting, to say the least.
Someone who decides to get in a little target practice on the public lands may not know if there is a trail, road or recreation area close by. Some do not appear to care.
Sadly, most Americans no longer learn firearm safety as youngsters, the valuable skills and lessons of marksmanship having been sent to the graveyard that is political correctness. Everyone agrees that firearms are dangerous in untrained hands – if you purchase one, learn how to operate it safely from a pro.