I had to have my tonsils removed in 2019. Having heard from many people about the horrific recovery as an adult, I asked around for some strong referrals for a surgeon. I spoke with one highly recommended doctor who shared that he had not practiced in 3 years and was just starting to schedule patients for surgery again. I quickly decided that he was not my doctor!

I recently reflected on this situation during a group discussion about the recent Colorado Firearm Injury Prevention Survey results. One of the questions in the survey asked how often owners had fired their firearm in the previous year. Almost 60% of respondents said they had not fired their firearm at all during the previous year. In the group discussion, there were two points of view: some people felt that it was a relief that owners weren’t pulling out their firearms and using them on a regular basis. Others were concerned that owners weren’t keeping their skills fresh and thus wouldn’t be able to use their firearms competently if/when they did use them.

In full disclosure, I own a 9mm gun. I got it because I live in a fairly rural area and thought it would be good to have for protection. Prior to purchasing the gun in the spring of 2020, I had fired a gun two times. My first time shooting a gun was during a visit to Quantico in 2008 and I got to experience shooting a whole bunch of different guns. The second time was part of a class just prior to the pandemic that reviewed firearms basics and included time on the shooting range. For both experiences, I did pretty well hitting the targets despite having no experience!

However, since purchasing my gun, I have not used it once. I bought bullets but never chambered them. I essentially put the gun in my built-in safe that came with my house and didn’t touch it again. Initially, it was because I didn’t go anywhere during the pandemic. Then I got too busy. And then, quite frankly, I forgot about it until this recent group conversation. Now I realize how irresponsible it is of me to own a gun and not know how to or feel comfortable using it…just like it would be so irresponsible for a doctor to start scheduling surgeries when he has done absolutely nothing to refresh his skills. I wouldn’t want to see that doctor. And I wouldn’t want to be around someone who isn’t comfortable using their own gun. So I just scheduled time with an instructor and have committed to regularly practice using my firearm. If you have a firearm, I hope you’ll do the same. Let’s be safe – and smart – together.