David's parents sent him a check for $450 so he can buy a shotgun. Another example of how different our backgrounds are. I actually don't mind David owning a shotgun, which surprises me because I used to say I would never have a gun in my house. But I do have my limits. Maybe, he can own a few shotguns, but I do not want a full-on collection. And we will never, ever have a handgun in our house.

When people want to own guns as a hobby, I get it. When people say they want to defend themselves, I don't think so. Being as open-minded as possible, I believe that they believe that they need guns to protect themselves. I also acknowledge that I've lived a violent-free, almost crime-free life and never ever felt that I was in such danger that I needed a gun to protect myself. I acknowledge that that's not everyone's life experience.

My life experience has shaped my opinion that guns aren't necessary. And my medical training has gone even further by shaping my opinion that owning guns causes more unintentional harm than actual self-defense. A study published in a medical journal found an association between suicides by gunshot in households that didn't lock up their guns or store their ammo separately from their guns. When I was on child psychiatry, I treated a 13 year-old who was shot...by his dad...while his dad was cleaning a gun.

I don't know the statistics. How many people are shot accidentally? How many people actually have needed a gun in self-defense? The media doesn't talk about these numbers. They do report that 30 people die everyday from gunshot wounds. Again, not knowing the statistics, I imagine that the majority of deaths are in poor, communities of color, who obtain guns illegally.

Shooting guns at a shooting range is fun I admit. I'll leave it at that.