I was about to say that ours is the most violent generation especially when it comes to guns but then I read somewhere that guns have been used as far back as 1892 when I don’t imagine the world was as dangerous as it is today but who knows?

Still, I’m baffled by some people’s endearment and, in some cases, obsession with guns to the extent that they spend thousands of dollars on them.

The last thing I would buy is a gun. I have no desire to ever own one and I would feel uncomfortable living with anyone who has one unless it was someone who works in security and even then, I would be nervous.

What if the gun goes off for whatever reason? What if I do something the gun owner doesn’t like and he or she decides to shoot me? That’s how paranoid I get. When it comes to guns, my first thought is death and when you think about it, that’s primarily what guns are for.

To kill people or game for those who hunt. My earliest recollection of how dangerous guns are was when I was about 5 and armed robbers broke into shops near where we lived.

The next morning, I recall my mum talking about the incident with our neighbours and I learnt that armed men had shot their way into the shops and looted supplies and cash.

They must have tried to grab a couple of bottled drinks, probably beer and, at some point during the break in, they must have panicked after learning that local authorities were on their way and in the ensuing chaos, one or two of them must have stepped on the broken glass.

The memory of that bloody and messy scene has stuck with me since. My next "encounter” was several years later when a rich man in our neighbourhood was shot and killed following a typical "business deal gone wrong” squabble.

This time, I actually heard the gunshots and it was around 10:pm. It felt like they were right outside our house even though it was several metres away. I was terrified and, to this day, every time something pops, I get nervous.

Same feeling when I walk past armed security guards. Speaking of which, I dread standing outside not just my gate but anyone’s, having heard many accounts of people shot right outside their homes and other cases of mistaken identity where thugs were waylaying someone else and the victim just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

That thought alone has me shaking! If it were up to me, civilians would be banned from owning guns because the majority of people around the world don’t have firearms and the world hasn’t stopped! I just don’t understand how one person can be allowed to purchase dozens of guns and packs on packs of ammunition as is the case in some countries. Eventually, someone’s going to get hurt, inadvertently or otherwise.