Photo of the day.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-na-scotus27-2008jun27,0,4515047.story

In one of my newsfeeds on my iGoogle homepage this morning, I saw an article referencing the Supreme Court affirmation of gun rights. The article goes on to reiterate guaranteed citizens the right to keep guns at home for self-defense. “In a 5-4 decision, the court said that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” is not limited to state militias, as some historians have argued. Rather, it protects “the inherent right of self-defense,” Justice Antonin Scalia said.”

When the article opened, the first thing I noticed was the picture, of course. But one thing caught my eye in particular. Take notice of the one advocate with the sign that says, “If guns kill people…. do pens misspell words?” This really got the wheels in my brain spinning. It always makes me laugh when people who smoke sue tobacco companies in response to them getting tobacco related cancer, or sue companies in general for human induced problems or deaths.

In contrast to my upbringing, I am not a huge advocate for carrying around conceled weapons on a regular basis, but I do believe in the right to keep a gun in your home for self-defense purposes, as well as, for hunting purposes. I am a pretty easy going person and I do NOT enjoy or encourage violence. The only violence I enjoy is boxing for exercise. I agree with something Obama said in response to the court’s ruling: “I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the rights of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety measures,” he said.