On Sunday, July 13 I had a prowler outside my home in central Colorado Springs, a frightening experience which led to me procuring a shotgun and writing about it in my column last Thursday. Below are some of the responses I received from local citizens after the column ran. You can find my original article online in the featured section of the North (Black Forest, Briargate, Tri-Lakes) or West (Cripple Creek, Manitou Springs, Old Colorado City, Woodland Park) hubs.

• I grew up around guns and for the longest couldn't understand people being against them. I was raised to respect them (10 gun safety rules) but enjoy not fear them (like electricity). I have a wife and four kids and we all enjoy shooting but we also know that there are bad people in this world and we won't have to wait for the police if one of them breaks into our house. It would be great to take a firearm safety class and spend some time at the range so you can 1. see how fun shooting is and 2. have confidence if you ever need to defend you or your family.
Clay Combs

• A disclaimer: I am an avid hunter and fisherman. I was born and raised in Washington, D.C. and my dad worked at the Pentagon. There were no guns in our house as my mother was scared to death of them (sure that we would shoot ourselves). I am now almost 64 years old. When I was a child and young man the country viewed guns differently. High schools had rifle teams; it was not unusual for teenagers to bring guns to school and go hunting after school was out. I had a gun (22 cal. rifle in my college dorm room). Until the late '60s, commercial airline pilots were required to carry guns on their planes as they often carried the mail. I am not sure just what changed attitudes possibly it was the fear of blacks (Some of the first handgun laws were passed against "Saturday night specials" in an attempt to disarm them). Possibly it was the continued erosion of self reliance and looking to government (e.g. the police) to protect us. Unfortunately this is a trend that continues today in all facets of life (another discussion). However, that is not the reason I am writing you. There continues to be a significant misunderstanding regarding the 2nd Amendment. The founders did not put it in the bill of rights so that I could enjoy hunting or even so that I could use a gun to protect my family and friends. Though they would certainly approve of both. The purpose of the 2nd Amendment is to protect us from our government. They had just fought a war to get out from under the yoke of what they considered a tyrannical government headed by a king. Their fear was that given the opportunity, government would again grow and become tyrannical and possibly would need to be overthrown. A justifiable fear based on what we see today. The 2nd Amendment was to ensure that individuals would have the arms necessary to do this. The people who run the government are very leery of this of course. Once in power they do not want anything that would threaten that power. I do not doubt that if the founders were alive today they would be appalled at what the people and government of the U.S. have become. The rebellion was ignited over a 1% to 2% tax. Today all taxes and regulations combined take over 50% of an individuals income. A couple of books that you might be interested in reading are "A Nation of Sheep" by Andrew Napolitano and "Who Killed the Constitution? The Fate of American Liberty from World War I to George W. Bush" by Kevin R. C. Gutzman & Thomas E. Woods Jr. You might also want to go to lewrockwell.com and read the articles. I wish you the best and hope you never have to use your shotgun in defense of your family.
Charlie

• Your experience was interesting and frightening. I come from another school of thought. I had my first .22 rifle on the farm at about 8 years of age. Then a .22 pistol and finally a single shot 20 gauge shotgun at about 12. I bought all those except the first .22 with money I earned from hunting raccoons and possums for their hides and shooting coyotes for their bounty. I and my brothers helped put meat on the table by hunting.
Today, I have a .22 rifle, a 30-06 big game rifle and a 20 gauge automatic shotgun. No handgun. If there was a reason, I would get a concealed gun permit. I have hunted and shot guns most of my life. I wouldn't hesitate to use a gun to protect my life, my family or anyone else in danger of bodily harm. The biggest problem is having them put away with shells separate; it is hard to have time to react to immediate danger or harm.
I would worry more about you having a gun or carrying a gun because you have limited experience. For me, packing heat in the classroom is no different than carrying while walking downtown. With all the murders taking place in C.S., how many have happened by someone carrying a legal concealed gun? None that I know of.
Thanks for your thoughts and I hope your wife and child are sleeping well at night. That must have been traumatic.
Duane C. Slocum, Gazette Advisory Board

• I read your article in yesterday's Gazette with interest, especially in light of the Supreme Court's recent decision concerning guns. As a person who grew up hunting in the South and has been around guns my entire life, I can tell you that for many people there is an appreciation for guns that goes beyond their use for protection and hunting. I enjoy some of them from an aesthetic point of view; they represent fine examples of engineering, craftsmanship, and even artistry. In this sense they are similar to a sports car or a fighter aircraft in that their design may be pleasing to the eyes of certain individuals. Some are ugly, but you look at others and say, "Wow, that is a thing of beauty!" Actually, you may not say it out loud, but you do think it, at least if you're me. The mechanics of firearms is all very interesting to me, too.
If I put myself in your shoes, I can understand where you were coming from before. It's easy to think that guns do far more harm than good, and that we as a society should have "outgrown" them by now. But the bottom line is that when we need some form of effective protection from all the wickedness that we hear about on the news each day, there is nothing better than a gun. A true story I heard not too long ago is a good example: A former military official hears someone breaking into his home in the middle of the night. He tells his wife to stay in bed while he reaches for the pump shotgun he keeps close at hand. Quietly, he sneaks into a room near the sliding back door that the criminal has just come through. In the darkness he pumps the action on the shotgun, a sound that is unmistakable to most, and then hears the loudest and most violent of crashing noises and cursing as the would-be thief (and who knows what else) exits the house, taking out the back door as he goes. A shot was never fired, but the thief will most likely never return to that house.
Hunting may seem barbaric to some, but most hunters will tell you that it's the fellowship with other hunters and the experience of being out in nature that is the best part. Trust me, no one appreciates or recognizes the value of wildlife more than hunters. Teddy Roosevelt was quite the hunter, but he was also one of the greatest conservationists our country has ever known. Hunting is a tradition that fathers have passed on to their sons (and sometimes daughters as well) for many generations, perhaps dating back to the founding of our nation or beyond. And nothing tastes better than wild game with mashed potatoes, gravy, and biscuits. A few reckless or inconsiderate hunters give the rest of us a bad name, but most hunters are the kind of Americans you would want to call on in a time of need, the kind that would give you the shirt off their back.
Anyway, I appreciate what you said in the article, and I hope that what I have written will help you to better understand the mindset of many gun owners.
Rob Parham

• I would encourage you to take the next steps in becoming a responsible gun owner:
1. Take a class on gun safety.
2. Join a gun club and go practice shooting.
Terry Anderson

• As a big city girl I remember my first encounter with a robbery. I wasn't the victim but an elderly woman not 10 feet in front of me was.
Life experience has a way of changing how you feel about things, doesn't it?
Mary Grace Becker

• O.K., so you're a late bloomer. Encountering stark reality can have a sobering effect. Personal safety is still an individual responsibility as the police are not legally required to protect us (they can't). Even today, a man has a traditional duty to have the means and ability to protect his loved ones.
Having a shotgun is a good start, but do you know how to use it competently? (I'd bet you haven't even fired it). Do you have a family plan for emergencies that everyone understands? How about a "safe room" for the family in the event of intruders? You might also want to consider adding a handgun (much more portable) for road trips, etc.
Now go ahead and do the right thing: get some advice and instruction from certified trainers. Merely having a shotgun is far from enough.
Robert Vegvary