Cassandra Tognoni | A lesson in gun control

'Ok, people, we're going live, with simulated ammunition." So started my gun safety lesson last Wednesday at Philadelphia Archery & Gun Club in Southeast Philly.

After last weeks's tragic crime, I was searching for anything that would make me feel safer on an increasingly dangerous campus. Given the prevalence of guns in Philadelphia, I thought that getting acquainted with a little metal might be a helpful way to protect myself. So I ventured to the gun club ready to get my lesson in self-defense.

I ended up discovering that knowing how to shoot a gun probably wouldn't help me fend off criminals. Nonetheless, I left with a valuable lesson about gun safety and a familiarity and confidence with guns that every Penn student should have.

This wasn't the first time I had shot a gun. I went to shooting ranges a few times before with my family. But those "family outings" consisted of my dad loading the gun for me, putting it in my hands and telling me to "just shoot the damn gun!" as I shivered in fear.

Credit to my dad for rightly insisting I get over my fear, but he didn't exactly create a comfortable environment. I was always afraid the gun would malfunction or I would do something stupid.

This time, the gun club wouldn't let my two friends and I shoot without taking a lesson first. Thankful that we picked a legitimate gun club in Philadelphia (the potential for sketchiness was high), we first watched a 12-minute NRA video about the three fundamental rules of gun safety.

Our instructor, Ken, then came in with an unloaded 9-mm Glock and fake bullets. After 30 minutes with Ken, practicing loading, unloading and aiming, we were ready to shoot.

I cast away frightening flashbacks, and confidently loaded, cocked and shot the gun. This time, I wasn't afraid of malfunction or my own stupidity. It was exhilarating and empowering.

After our lesson, I spoke to the owner of the range, Jimmy Mastroddi. When I told him why I came in that day, he scoffed.

"Look, unless you're a ninja or something, this knowledge is not going to help you being held at gunpoint," he said. "Even me . if someone pulls a gun on me, I'm running."

What this knowledge can do, Mastroddi said, is prevent accidents and potentially save lives.

He likened gun-safety training to CPR - you may never have to use it, but everyone's safer if you know how to.

"Take a Virginia Tech-like example ... If the shooter had dropped the gun from his bag, or somehow he lost control of it . you would feel comfortable picking it up and disarming it."

This ability to "defuse the bomb" could be the difference between life and death.

What's more, it's simple and easy. But without going through a formal training lesson where those rules are stressed over and over again (Ken made us repeat the fundamental rules ad nauseam), one may never know just how important they are.

Training teaches you to be more comfortable using guns, but it also emphasizes the danger in misusing them and their potential to cause harm.

So maybe it's illegal (and not the best idea) to walk around campus with a loaded gun ready to shoot the next "screwdriver man" or cop killer.

But with proper gun training, if presented with the situation, you could "defuse the bomb."

Though it may be unlikely that you'll pass an unattended gun on your way to class, the recent litany of shootings prove that guns are on our streets; whether you like it or not, guns aren't going anywhere.

Should you ever come across a gun laying on 42nd Street, with a simple lesson in gun safety, you could feel comfortable disarming it, instead of leaving it there for the next criminal to pick up,. It's a small step to making Penn, and West Philadelphia, a safer place.

And in the end, I did walk away with something that may provide me a little self-defense on campus: a "Team Glock" hat.

I wasn't sure it would accomplish much, but Mastroddi made a good point.

"Well, at least it's better than a Penn 'I'm a good victim' hat."

Cassandra Tognoni is a Wharton junior from Andover, Mass. Her e-mail is tognoni@dailypennsylvanian.com. Skirting the Norm appears on Mondays.

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