TexasCHLforum.com

Two weeks ago, when I wrote about handguns on campus, I knew it was a controversial subject. I knew people would take it personally, get emotionally invested and probably say mean things.


What I didn’t expect was an invitation to a shotgun match from the North Texas Marksmen, but that’s what came to my inbox, along with a slew of comments and some mind-opening e-mails.

I wasn’t expecting the invitation, so of course I didn’t expect to go. But for some reason, I took a chance and drove out to the gun range Sunday morning to see what all of this gun stuff was about.

At the rifle range, a family class was in progress. Children young enough to be riding around in strollers watched their parents learning self defense with rifles. Women in rhinestone studded T-shirts and leopard print gloves watched carefully to learn how to hold the gun braced against their shoulders and cheek to minimize the kick felt when the gun went off.

They were just regular families out on a Sunday afternoon.

Then, suddenly, I was firing a semi-automatic shotgun. And it was fun.