I should know better. This topic used to be one of the most controversial, but I'm curious about the current line of thinking, especially with gun control and the 2nd amendment so much in the news.

A guy on dock 15 heard noise on the deck of his boat at 10:30 the other night. He popped his head out of his hatch to see two guys on his aft deck. He hollered, they jumped onto the dock and ran. He ran after them. They got away.

When he told me the story, I chastised him for chasing the guys. There's A LOT of bad guys with guns here in Georgia. Guns are common. This is a gun culture down here. He could have been shot.

I was telling this story to another at the marina, and he said that if those guys had gotten on his boat, the outcome would have been different. He carries a .357 magnum on board. He said he would have shot them.

Man, both of these stories have me concerned. I don't carry guns aboard. I could, but chose not to. First of all, I have three large dogs. But secondly, if some punk kid mugged me for my wallet, he'd get $13 in cash and credit and debit cards that I would cancel the next day. No matter how rotten he is, he's some mother's son and the last thing I would do is shoot him, even if I was armed.

It's so rare when a homeowner or boat owner with a gun stops a bad guy, that when it happens it makes news. But gun murders are so common that we don't even pay attention to them much. It's just a blip on the news. Just today, here in Brunswick Georgia, a mother was walking her 13 month old when a teen and pre-teen walked up, pulled out a gun and shot them both. The baby died.

It seems to me that having a gun aboard is just more apt to get you in trouble, especially if someone irresponsible gets ahold of it. Anyone feel differently?