R.L.'s already said you missed his point - at the risk of redundancy, I'll second. His point (and mine, elsewhere in this thread) is that quick convenient labelling of "nuts", whether they're political, or religious, or gun-owners, or what-have-you, rapidly leads to a dangerous characterization of all religious, or political, or gun-owning (or what-have-you) persons.

Granted, there are people who are just plain nuts - certifiably sociopathic. Some of them own guns, but many (perhaps most) do not. Also granted: most gun-owners are sane, responsible, law-abiding and safety-conscious. You may have noticed that one of us regulars is a "rifle mom" (I happen to know that another of her daughters is a medal-winner at pistol). I can't even begin to count the number of hunters I've known, as well as a handful of collectors and restorers, none of whom I'd characterize as "nuts".

I would not willingly take on the responsibility of owning, maintaining, and securing a firearm, but that doesn't render me incapable of understanding the pride and satisfaction in attaining the skills to use one accurately and safely - and I'm thankful for the tens of thousands who've preserved my right to freely obtain one, if and when I ever deem it necessary.