Visiting Chinese businessman could teach a thing or two about the freedoms too many take for granted

by Tom Woitovich

As I lay awake on the eve of this election, my mind wandered. I prayed for the electorate of our great country, that we would make good decisions on who we would put in office, and for those governing us, that they would make wise decisions in the coming years.

After awhile, I went to sleep, but awoke in the middle of the night not for any of the usual reasons - job stress or the latest teenager crisis. My mind raced about an experience I had a month or so ago during one of my last visits to my local gun range. I didn't think much about it at the time, but couldn't stop thinking about it as I lay awake on this election night.

It was a rather typical range visit except for one thing that made it quite extraordinary.

I was hanging out at the gun counter and kind of browsing the sales floor when I caught sight of a gentleman coming out of the range area. As he was buzzed out of the double-doors, he had a huge smile across his face.

With the enthusiasm of a sinner who had just discovered the grace of Christ among church people, he spoke as he approached me, and said something in a heavy accent that I could barely catch. I don't even remember exactly what he said, but I do remember the excitement in his voice and the twinkle in his eyes. In the awkwardness of the moment, the only response I could manage was "It's America!" You see, he was thrilled with the opportunity to be able to shoot a gun.

A nearby woman quickly explained to me that he was from China, visiting on business. One of the things he wanted to do while in America was go shooting – a right that he was not afforded in his homeland, and a right that many people in our great country take for granted. His gracious hosts had indulged him in his request to go shooting.

I reflected on what his exposure to firearms must have been. Surely he had seen soldiers and law enforcement in his country with guns, but I surmised that was probably the extent of it. Had he not visited America, he may never have had the opportunity to fire a gun.

One thing was for sure, he certainly enjoyed his first shooting experience. But it was about more than that, wasn't it? It was about the freedom that we enjoy in this country and our God-given right to defend ourselves against evil.

I couldn't help but wonder how many of our Ohio politicians had had an experience like this. The answer I came up with was not positive. Had Kasich, DeWine, Voinovich or Taft ever experienced anything similar to this gentleman from China? Surely not. Yet they are some of the people that we've entrusted in the past to protect our rights, but they don't seem to get it. They don't understand that the AR-15 rifle is the flintlock musket of today. They've never enjoyed the excitement or challenge of an IPSC or Multi-gun match. What can we do to make them understand?

Our rights are more volatile now than at any other point in our history. We are under attack by people with ungodly amounts of money in organizations that would strip us defenseless in a heartbeat. People whose goal is to create fear among those who are indifferent to the Second Amendment only because they have never had exposure to the safe and lawful use of a firearm. People who don't get that bad people will always have guns.

As I drifted back to sleep I recalled the recent BFA article about Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia taking fellow Justice, Elena Kagan, to shoot sporting clays at his local club. You see, Antonin Scalia gets it. Thanks to his American hosts, the Chinese businessman gets it. Most of you reading this get it. Shouldn't we all follow Scalia's example and expose a friend, sibling or child to the shooting sports?

Tom Woitovich is a technical analyst and a Buckeye Firearms Association volunteer.