2nd amendment

i don't like guns. i don't ever want to be in a situation where either i'm faced with it or have to use it. i see and respect the supreme court's ruling to protect the right of an individual to bear arms, but it's sad that we live in such fear that we need that protection.

i'm applying for naturalization, and i think the part where i'm asked if i would bear arms for this country was where my interviewer tried to trip me up. i stated on my application that i refuse to bear arms in this country. i would, however, be willing to perform non-combatant services for this country. only people who aren't intelligent enough to resolve a conflict would rely on guns and any act of lethal violence.

my interviewer proceeded to do a separate q&a where she asked me to state my name and place and date of birth. she asked if i claimed to be a pacifist for religious reasons. i said no. she asked what if someone was holding a gun to me. i said i would try to convince them not to shoot me. instead of asking a question, she simply states, "well, then you'd be dead."

first, i was insulted that she assumed that i wouldn't be able to persuade the armed person. second, just because someone holds a gun to your face doesn't mean they necessarily want to kill you. it's a scare tactic. more often than not, they'd probably be too scare to fire it. i was so caught off guard by her statement that i just said, "well, if they're determined to..."

really, what else could i have done in the situation? have a gun on me and shoot them back? is that what america is about? i don't think i'd be able to live with myself to shoot someone with a weapon as powerful as a gun, no matter the circumstance. yeah, there are some people i wish would die because they're jerks, but i don't hate them to the point of wanting to kill them. (i would just wish accidents would happen to them instead of nice people.)

i'm not going to say anymore about my naturalization interview until i receive the decision. when i get it, i'll have quite a story to tell.

but back to the 2nd amendment, in a better world, it would be an irrelevant argument, regarding an individual's right to bear arms. we shouldn't be living in a world where we feel we would need protection from a weapon that powerful. to me, guns are nuclear bombs on a much smaller scale. there's really no need for it.