Is it safe to have MS and carry a gun?

[Ed Tobias]

That’s the topic of my MS Wire column that was just published.

I’ve read about a woman with MS who carries a handgun in the pouch of her walker.

Do you own a gun?

Do you carry one, openly or concealed?

Is it safe for someone with MS to carry a gun?

 

[Scooter Graham]

I’m a just turned 59 year old with RRMS and I’ve been shooting (shotguns and rifles) all my life. I bought and shot a Ruger 41 magnum when I was 26 or so. I never shot it a lot but I had a 41 magnum. I never really starting shooting pistols until after I was diagnosed in 2000. I bought a double stack 9mm as my first automatic pistol. A friend of mine that got me into this pistol shooting had several 1911s. Long story short I fell in love with the 1911 and I now own 9, two of which are 9mm and the others are 45. I earlier this year got my carry license and I qualified with a 9 mm and had the highest score in  my class. I can and do shoot the 45s and it’s not unusual for me to go to the range and shoot 200 to 250 rounds. I reload by the way so I can shoot that many rounds for not much money. So my point being I don’t think you can group together all MSers cause we’re all different in how it affects us.

[Ed Tobias]

Thanks for your comments, Scooter. We’re absolutely all different, which is why I’m anxious to read more comments on this subject. Congrats on your top score and welcome to the forums. I hope you’ll comment on other topics that we post here.

Ed

[Anonymous]

Not safe, if I owned a gun I would have shot myself in the head years ago even before MS.  Sad but true, sorry.  Luckily we aren’t big on guns in New Zealand.

[Jacqueline]

Same here in UK, we are not a gun using, nor allowed country unlike our American friends although guns do get used and with damage-killings mainly amongst our young, we are needing to cut down – crack down on our gun crimes, they have been getting out of control. Not sure of the aim of the question, is it, do we feel safe and in control  whilst using a gun whilst with our MS ? or, if we had a gun, would we put ourselves out of our misery by pulling the trigger on ourselves?

I will answer no to both questions but although saying this now, sadly not long before my late father passed away with his cancer, he shocked me one time by saying ” if I had a gun I would blow my brains out ” this was coming from a man who had fought on the frontline during WW2 as a para in both Africa and Italy. So to be honest, we dont know what we would be capable of, until we are faced with it, ie, our MS gets so unbearable that we cant take any more. It has been known here in UK that an MS lady took herself to Dignitas a year or two ago.

 

Jackie

[Author]

Posts