Times have changed

I was raised near the Arrow Creek Breaks in the heart of Judith Basin, Charlie Russell Country, where my great-grandparents homesteaded at the turn of the century. Square Butte overshadowed the rolling prairie grasses where the deer and the antelope roamed.

My Dad was an avid hunter because he loved the sport and because it provided meat for our family. He had a high-powered rifle for the elk and deer, a shotgun for birds and a .22 for keeping the varmints out of the chicken house.

In 1969 my husband and I moved to the Flathead Valley where my husband hunted with his buddies, mostly in the Big Hole. Their annual elk trip was something they looked forward to all year. Our boys shot their first deer in the coulees on their grandparent’s ranch back in central Montana, only after they had been taught hunter safety and knew exactly what they had to do to take care of the deer after the kill.

Times have changed. And now is the time to sit down at the table and have a discussion on what we can do to make this a safer place for all of us to live. Mental health is a problem that must be addressed. Requiring a criminal background check for every gun sold in America would help.

Banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines would not mean that we would take all guns away, only the guns that are meant to kill people. We need to make gun trafficking a federal crime with stiff penalties for those who arm criminals.

If your vision of hunting and gun ownership values are the same as mine, contacting your representatives in Congress is one way to begin conversations about all these issues. Their numbers are Max Baucus, 202-224-2651, Jon Tester, 202-224-2644 and Steve Daines at 202-225-3211. Please also contact your State Legislators leaving a message for your representatives at 406-444-4800.

— Dianne Grove lives in Whitefish