A Nation Unwilling to Change: by Lance L. Pinamonte

Lance Lincoln Pinamonte

I am now an old man, with only memories of simpler times, when as a young boy, I was taken out on a Saturday afternoon for some target practice, shooting cans off of fence posts far out on the high plains with my Uncle.

The lessons passed down from generation to generation, the basics of gun safety, hunting, and responsibility still ring in my ears..

Then times changed.  At seventeen, taking the place of my Uncle, a Drill Sargent was screaming in my ear about the difference between a Gun and a Weapon! 

The same message was present: safety and responsibility, however, the hunting part had changed. We were now hunting humans. 

I could sugarcoat the message and say we were defending our country, but we were thousands of miles away from our country.  We were the front lines against Communism, a system we had been conditioned to dislike.  The truth was, most of us didn't even know the meaning of the word.. 

So, we pushed the child beggars away in the streets, gave them candy bars instead of meals, moved whole villages to the city slums, defoliated their landscape, and we put our chosen leaders in charge.

We also did good. We built schools, hospitals, and tried to promote freedom, introducing democracy to a people, who in many cases, could not understand what it meant. 

As we did these things, we were never far away from our firearms.  We slept, ate, and spent every day with a weapon by our side. We kept them clean and we kept several hundred rounds of ammunition close at hand.

Guns as a Security Blanket

These firearms were our closest companions, our security blankets -- but they were security blankets with bullet holes.  Most of us saw first-hand what these security blankets were capable of. 

Some of us held our friends while their blood ran into the Vietnamese soil. Many are still haunted by the faces and names of those who once laughed and lived and fought beside us. 

We held our weapons closer, kept them cleaner, but men still died. Everyone had a weapon and yet no one was safer ...

So this brings me to today. I own firearms and they are kept clean and secure. I do not shoot often and I do not hunt anymore. It is hard for me, because I know what it feels like to be hunted. 

The right granted by the Second Amendment of our Constitution comes with great responsibility. It is not there to back armed rebellion. We have a system that is capable of overthrowing governments. It is called the VOTE. The firearms we own are for protection of this system of democracy, our homes, our property, and our families.

All this being said, it is no longer the 1950's.  Many gun owners are not passing gun safety and responsibility along to their youth.  Mental health is paramount to responsible gun ownership, and our population has grown way beyond what our nation's founders could ever imagine. 

We have powerful organizations that promote gun ownership, and groups that promote the absence of guns. Both are acting like selfish children. Those in power are passing feel-good measures that do nothing to slow gun violence.  The other organizations are promoting more guns as a safe solution.

Change is always hard.  The solution is very plain -- but no one wants to back it. First we need to scrap all of the present gun laws on the books.  They amount to nothing more than putting a Bandaid on a bleeding artery. 

Licensing of gun owners:  you must have training on safety, responsibility, liability, as well as a mental/criminal background check. Once you have this license, you can carry open, or concealed, and own as many firearms as you want. These weapons can be sold, gifted, or passed on, but only to another licensed person. We must be trained and licensed to drive a car -- it should be much the same with firearms.

More guns is not the answer, but no guns is not the answer either. The security blanket of gun ownership is getting very ragged and it needs to be repaired ... 

God Bless America.

Lance Lincoln Pinamonte

Lance Lincoln Pinamonte
U.S. Army - 1967 to 1970
67N30 Crewchief/Doorgunner Helicopter Mech.
Champagne Flight

“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale


Feel free to comment on this post. You are also invited to write about anything you want to share. Memoirs From Nam is YOUR blog. You are writing America's history.

Send it to me in an e-mail and I will be proud to post it for you.

A Worthy Rebuttal to Mr. Garrison: by Frank Fox

Frank Fox

I am shocked and appalled at Mr. Garrison's dissertation, "America: A Constitutional Republic". A bigger tub of venomous slop I have never read. 

He takes the very thread of our Democracy, (I know he is like many others and hates the term), throws it on the floor, and weaves his own caustic fabric of untruths. 

He takes many quotes from the early age of this great Democracy and bends them into a nest of snarling and gnashing teeth against our Freedoms.

I remember when Democracy and God were used in the framework of our country to describe what we believed and what we stood for. Now days, Democracy and God are being taken away by those like Mr. Garrison, who say, "We need to kill anyone who tries to take away our guns." 

Why does anyone have to die? We have to have law and order.

Mr. Garrison is supporting status quo. Do nothing and we will continue to lead the world in senseless killings, but we will be able to continue to leave guns unlocked and loaded? We will buy weapons that have no place, except on a battlefield, and say they are for sport.

He twists what the Constitution means with regards to "Our Right to Bear Arms". When that portion of the Constitution was written, it applied to folks who had black powder muskets behind their back doors for providing food for the table and the militia (family men who may band together in the absence of law enforcement and a military force to protect property and their families).

Now we have an organized police force and trained military. He doesn't trust you, or me. He wants to shoot and kill anyone who doesn't vote his way. He is right though, but it's closer to say that 90% of Americans want gun legislation, not 99%.

Guns are as safe as hammers, if in the hands of the right people. Mr. Garrison wants the status quo of anybody who can pick one up can have one. It is the people who are bad, not the gun. So, what we need is legislation to prevent them (the bad ones) from having them.

We also need legislation to restrict the high kill rate weapons from getting into the wrong hands. The government doesn't mind anyone having a hunting weapon, like many available in various calibers, or the shotguns. However, they should be in a safe place, not leaning against the wall loaded for children to pick up.

We need legislation to have serious consequences for violation of guns laws. We must not let a small group dictate to the majority what is good for all of us. Mr. Garrison tries to make it sound noble, but he is far, far from it. If I were his neighbor and we disagreed on the subject, he may decide I am someone who needs to be killed some night during one of his rants.

We need to preserve Democracy and God in our everyday life.

Garrison doesn't give us a chance to explore how Franklin, Washington, or others, might feel today about gun ownership, since they are not here. To suppose he can, would be to say he is as smart as they are, and I don't see that. He is just afraid someone will take his toys, something that makes him feel equal to others. People like Jefferson, Washington, Franklin were armed with intelligence, hence the pen truly is mightier than the sword.

Please don't confuse real American contributors with lobbyist and PAC's. I would ask that, if you were a Conservative, you would deny it and say you are a libertarian, or worse yet, a member of the T-Party. To follow you and your ilk would be to take us to a path of slavery over and again. Then who do we kill?

I'm sorry, but his rant is just too offensive. I own a 9mm weapon. It is legal, locked up and unloaded, at this time. The government is not opposed to people like me owning a weapon. However, it does have an issue with folks who sell guns to drug cartels, and will have to find another legal way of making a living. It also has an issue with guns being able to get into the wrong hands.

To do it your way, Garrison, would only insure that American will lead the world in violent deaths from illegal guns held by illegal owners ...

Frank Fox

Combat Medic
Sea/Air Rescue
US Navy with USMC
August 1964 – August 1970 (6 years 1 month)


More Articles by Frank Fox:

The Marine and the Cure
More Thoughts on War and Youth
Opinions, Thoughts and Feelings
A Different Perspective


“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale


Add your opinion, thought, or comment, about this post. You are also invited to write about anything you want to share. Send it to me in an e-mail and I will be proud to post it for you.

Memoirs From Nam is YOUR blog and it needs YOU.