Don’t shoot! Instead, take a breath, Nevada!

Nevada’s own Dirty Harriet, Las Vegas Republican Asemblywoman Michele Fiore, recently regaled the Chronicle of Higher Education with an oldie-but-goodie among gun lovers.

“I don’t know who the quote was said by, but I’ve heard it several times and I believe it wholeheartedly, that an armed society … is a polite society,” Fiore said.

Ah, yes, who could forget the recent exchange of pleasantries in Las Vegas between Tammy Myers and 19-year-old Erich Nowsch that ended with Myers dead and Nowsch facing a long prison term, at best? And that’s but the tip of the iceberg of Second Amendment moments that demonstrate how the proliferation and misuse of weapons often ends in a ride to the hospital or the graveyard.

Now, before the more excitable members of the cult of the Second Amendment rise up in defense of their holy icons, let me be clear: I’m not calling for banning firearms (I own several myself). The abuse of a constitutional right by a criminal does not justify the suspension of that right for the rest of the law-abiding populace, period. And with 300 million guns in America, it’s obvious the vast majority of them are used lawfully.

But lately, it seems as if the rhetoric has become a little overheated. Fiore wondered to The New York Times how many would-be rapists would still want to visit their crimes upon “hot little girls” if the penalty for such actions was “a bullet to the head.” Bills pending in the Nevada Legislature would permit carrying of weapons into more places (schools, university campuses, even the unsecured areas of airports) and allow more people than ever to carry them (including concealed weapons permit holders from other states with standards similar to Nevada’s).

And the circumstances under which you could use guns, ostensibly in self-defense, could be expanded, too: An omnibus gun bill by Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson would label as “justifiable homicide” the killing of a person who’s trying to get into a car with the intent to assault the people inside. That bill would also do away with Clark County’s decades-old “blue card” handgun registration program (with the support of newly elected Sheriff Joe Lombardo) and erase local laws such as North Las Vegas’ ban on transporting loaded guns.

Roberson’s bill also includes a provision that would prohibit people convicted of domestic violence from buying or possessing guns, a weaker alternative to a bill introduced by Sen. Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, that would not only keep domestic abusers and stalkers from buying or possessing guns, but would force them to give up the guns they already own.

Roberson’s bill, as well as at least two others, will be heard by legislative committees today.

America loves its guns, and Nevada loves its guns even more. But is it possible the firearms frenzy has gone too far, that we’ve put too much faith in the power of guns to ward off evil? There are plenty of stories of private citizens defending themselves with guns from real or perceived harm. But there are also plenty of stories of mishaps, innocent victims and plain stupidity in pulling the trigger.

Yes, it’s possible the hot little girls of Fiore’s imagination could fend off attackers, if they’re properly trained, if they know how to retain their weapon in a stressful, combat situation, if they have time and presence of mind to react quickly and if they hit their target. (One firearms training expert opines that most people are about half as good in the field under stressful conditions than they are on their best day on the range.)

And what’s your reward if you’re successful, besides saving yourself from an assault? The knowledge that you’ve taken a life, with all the moral, spiritual and legal consequences that such an awful act implies. That gets lost in the sea of tough talk and standing up for the Second Amendment, but it shouldn’t. Yes, there are times when it comes down to your life (or the life of an innocent person) or the life of a determined criminal. But that doesn’t make the act of life-taking any less terrible, or the aftermath any easier. Shouldn’t that be part of the conversation, too?

Perhaps we could give the overheated killing talk a rest for awhile? Because who wants to live in a society where we’re all afraid to honk at a wayward driver on the freeway for fear of getting shot? Oh, hey, look at that: Fiore was right after all: An armed society is a polite society!

Steve Sebelius is a Las Vegas Review-Journal political columnist who blogs at SlashPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or ssebelius@reviewjournal.com.