Author’s Note: One of the nice things about being a member of Ricochet is participating in the robust discussions in the Member Feed and joining in on the activities there, such as topic-specific group writing projects. This month, the topic is guns, and this is my contribution. If you like this sort of thing and want to add something the conversation, please consider joining Ricochet.com.

I recently attended the 2016 NRA Annual Meeting, and given the title of this post and the NRA’s reputation, I’ll bet you’re expecting me to write a long missive about why gun ownership is for everyone and you’re crazy if you don’t want to own a gun.

Nothing could be further from the truth. There are many good reasons not to own a gun, and gun ownership is not to be taken lightly. Taking control of your personal security and the security of your loved ones is one of the most adult decisions you can make in your life and, sometimes, the answer to that question is “no.”