On the other hand, if you take my parking space, I will kill you

Okay, my response was not as organized as True Ancestor's, but I have been thinking recently about my preparedness, disaster-wise.

Spooney said to me over the weekend that we should have a gun, in case...well, you know. We live in LA, after all, and any number of things could happen that might put our little domicile in jeopardy. And if push comes to shove, and some New Orleans style shit goes down, he wondered if having a gun to protect ourselves might be the prudent thing to do.

My response was the same one I always give to the "should I have a gun?" question: If you have a gun, you'd best be prepared to use it.

And I'm not just talking about being able to hit a target. After all, I am a registered marksman with a .22. -- It's a long story.

But being prepared to use a gun is a paradigm shift. Being prepared to use a gun means that you are prepared to make that life or death evaluation of a situation, shoot to maim or kill another human, and then live with that decision for the rest of your life.

That's not me, folks. I've spent four years trying to decide what color to paint my bathroom, because I dread the possibility of having to live with a bad decision. A bad decision about the color of a wall. So that's not me, doling out justice with a nickel plated revolver with a nice mother of pearl handle. That's not me, deciding my life is worth more than someone else's. It may be the worst kind of namby-pamby leftist pablum, but I can't do it. I can't. That's not me.