Me? I’ll be over here laughing maniacally. The tears of the anti-Second Amendment left are sweet indeed.

Natanel (a Buddhist who owns a Gun – ed) is one of a growing number of people in groups once considered anti-handgun – women, liberals, gays and college kids – who have been buying weapons. They are part of a national trend: Domestic handgun production and imports more than doubled over four years to about 4.6 million in 2009, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Natanel, whose religion advocates peace, never considered a gun — until an ex-boyfriend broke into her home and all the authorities could do was issue a restraining order after the fact. Now she has a concealed carry permit and a Walther. She also practices and sought instruction for proper usage.

Twenty years ago, 76 percent of women felt that way about handguns, and 68 percent of all people in the country were wary enough of firearms of any kind to tell Gallup pollsters that they backed laws more strictly limiting their sale. Then what Gallup calls “a clear societal change” began.

In October, a Gallup poll found record-low support for a handgun ban – at 26 percent among all responders and 31 percent among women.

The poll, which has tracked gun attitudes since 1959, documented a record-low 43 percent who favor making it more difficult to acquire guns and record-high numbers of women and Democrats saying there is a firearm at their home. Forty-seven percent said someone in the household owns at least one gun, the highest reading in 18 years.

A spokeswoman for the rabidly anti-gun Brady Campaign says, despite countless cases of homeowners defending themselves and their families with personal weapons, those who keep weapons in their homes for protection are delusional. She tries to scare people by telling them they’ll shoot bystanders or get themselves killed.

It seems the only real delusional people are those who still think guns are evil. Are guns in the hands of reckless individuals dangerous? Sure. So are cars, but every year millions of teenagers who have yet to graduate high school climb behind the steering wheel. More people get killed in auto accidents than get themselves killed with their own guns during a break-in, I guarantee you that.

Do what I — and countless other Americans — have done: Legally acquire your firearm and then train with it. Take a firearms safety course. If you have really young kids in the home,  keep the gun in a safe (they make biometric and other neat, quick-access options now). Older kids? Teach them about gun safety and make sure they respect the gun. Be a safe and responsible gun owner.

Don’t fear, respect. Make sure your kids know guns, like cars, aren’t toys. They’re tools. And just like you don’t play around with a table saw or jackhammer, you don’t “play” around with guns. You train with them, you might compete with them, maybe you hunt with them, but most of all you use them responsibly and to protect your family. Tools not toys. Respect not fear.