Extremely well written!

I was (and to some degree still am) a gun nut. I used to collect weapons, and yes, some of them were purchased because they "looked cool".

But they were still weapons, and they were never fired in anger or fear. In fact, most of the "cool looking" ones were simply wall decorations, because a lot of those weapons are garbage.

Never, not once in my life, did I consider carrying a weapon just because it looked cool. Those stayed on the wall, or in a locker. They were part of a collection. Any gun I intended to carry was functional, safed, and the weapon between my ears primed with the idea that guns are for killing. Something Mr. Rittenhouse apparently missed.

Because of what American gun culture has become, I no longer own nor carry guns. There are multiple reasons for this, not the least being that I have small children who are quite clever. I have no illusions about a lock defeating them, and I can' t live with that.

But frankly, as much as I have loved shooting sports, I would give up the right to ever shoot again if it prevented this level of violence.

We lead the world in gun deaths. By rather a lot. If that's what our "freedoms" are about, I think I'd rather be somewhere else. Almost anywhere.