While I'm not one to hobby-horse a specific issue, there are a few that mean a bit more to me than others. One of those is gun rights. There's a reason why our founding fathers wrote the Second Amendment — without our right to keep and bear arms the rest is for naught.

I'm a wife, mother, and grandmother. On top of that, both my mother and her brother, several years apart, committed suicide with a gun. Knowing that, most people might assume I'm against guns. Sure, I know the dangers, but instead of fearing them, I was brought up with a heavy respect for firearms. When I was a pre-schooler, my father took me to the woods, set up a target, and taught me just what a gun can do. He explained a gun was not a toy. It was a weapon that can kill someone. It was a very valuable lesson all children should be taught.

As I got older and was responsible for chores around the house, one of the things I did was to make my parents' bed. My father kept a revolver inside an old tube sock under his pillow. I'd remove it to make the bed, but I never even looked in the sock, much less took the gun out to play with it. That earlier lesson had de-mystified guns and handled any curiousity I might have had.

Today I'm a responsible gun owner with a concealed weapon permit. I hope I never have to use my weapon, but I know how. In fact, I'm a pretty good shot.

Unfortunately, certain rabble-rousers have turned our Second Amendment right into an emotional issue. That's a perfect manipulation tool — pulling the heartstrings can cause people to suspend reason and logic. After all, only a monster could not be upset by the accidental death of a child playing with a gun. Certainly you don't want another Columbine, another Virginia Tech. But the answer is not more gun laws. Let's start enforcing the ones already on the books. Take Washington, D.C. for example — they have some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, but look at how many gun-related crimes are committed there.

Try to step back from your emotions. Think with your head, not your heart for a moment. It's very simple — if you ban guns, only law-abiding citizens will be unarmed. Is a criminal really going to care that you've banned gun ownership? And if you're a criminal, where would you target? A place where citizens enjoy their Second Amendment rights or one where government has left them with no means of self defense?

And please don't say that's what the police are for. I have the utmost respect for law enforcement. They do a very dangerous job and deal with the dregs of society. But be realistic, they can't be everywhere all the time. If someone is breaking into my home, even if I could get to a phone and call 9-1-1, odds are they won't get there in time. But if I have a gun by me, I can protect myself. And while we're talking about this, let's not adopt some of the outrageous requirements I've heard suggested. Things like you can have a gun, but it must have a trigger lock or be kept in a locked box. I may not have time to fumble with a key or combination lock. And don't you dare insist the ammunition must be kept separately. Again, when there's someone breaking in — or worse, already in — time is of the essence. My gun stays loaded, all I have to do is chamber a round.

Guns are not the problem. The real source goes much deeper. The root of violence in our nation stems from a destruction of values. Society has lost its moral compass. I believe we started down that road a very long time ago, but the problem really exploded in the 60s, with the rise in popularity of psychiatrists, psychologists, and other self-proclaimed mental health experts. They started convincing people there was no right or wrong. That you're not responsible for your actions. That man is an animal, he has no soul. These dangerous viewpoints opened the door for people to drop the concept of personal responsibility. It's lead to things like experts saying, "Of course he started stealing and killing. He grew up poor. His neighborhood was filled with drug-users. He came from a broken family." Nothing but excuses. And certainly not the truth. A lot of people grew up poor, in bad neighborhoods, from broken families, but they turned out to be respectable, contributing members of society. Criminals are criminals because they're evil. Some are simply more evil than others. For instance, a thief isn't as far gone as a rapist or murderer.

This degradation of society has gotten more pronounced. Video games glorify senseless killing. Nike tells us to, "Just do it" while Outback Steakhouse says, "No rules, just right." Schools teach kids self esteem instead of the "three Rs". Teenage girls can get birth control, or worse, an abortion without a parent's knowledge. Parents are prevented from even disciplining kids. And politicians are getting away with all sorts of bad behavior — from ethical lapses to out-and-out crimes.

Unless we rediscover our moral compass, we'll follow in the footsteps of this planet's last great civilization — the Roman Empire. If you study their history you'll find they, too, began to crumble from within. Adultery and homosexuality became accepted behaviors (sound familiar?). Corruption was rampant in their government (sound famiar?). I don't want to see our civilization fall as well. There's still time to reverse the damage. There is such a thing as right and wrong, people. It’s time to start behaving like adults and not as spoiled children.