Any transition which involves surrendering long-held beliefs is a painful one for most people. This cannot have been easy for her to write.
You're 1,000% right. I'm having a similar experience after having to be in court yesterday to testify on behalf of a victim of a crime in which a 6-year-old boy was also involved. As a witness to the crime who also intervened, I felt very strongly about asking the judge to disarm the perp and red-flag them here in IL so they can never own a weapon again.
While I found myself struggling and conflicted with the feeling of doing it, the fact that the perp threatened to shoot me IN COURT and it was overheard made it easier.
This morning I finally reconciled my feelings with "it was the right thing to do" because of the perp's behavior and frankly, long record of doing what they did to my friend and his grandson.
Perp was held, his weapons were seized yesterday and I was assured he'd never own a weapon again.
The thing that gives me a sense of ease with asking to have this individual forcibly disarmed and flagged is that had I not, I'd have never been able to live with myself should he actually shoot and kill someone going forward.
So yes, confronting one's own long-held beliefs is painful. I know it. And while some people will question/flame me for what I did, I'm quite comfortable with it.
Some people just shouldn't own weapons, that perp was one of 'em. One of these days he's going to threaten the wrong person and end up looking down a barrel. Hopefully the last thing that goes through his mind is hot, high velocity lead.
He'd absolutley deserve it.
Threaten to shoot me, that's one thing. Threaten to shoot a young boy and his grandfather? That's not a line to cross around me.