Frightening experience

In America, guns are almost commonplace.

In my home country's Bill of Rights, there is the Right to Bear Arms.

There are rules and guidelines, of course. Those laws are mostly followed, but everyone knows that there are lawbreakers .

In Australia, there is no such thing as a Bill of Rights.

No freedom of speech, freedom of the press, etc., and no way, no how, no where...the right to bear arms.

All guns are outlawed unless farmers and/or ranchers or those so inclined in livestock management obtain a special license for hunting non-native species animal predators, and/or crop nuisances. Period. Or so I've been told. No leeway, unless one is a policeman. Therefore, drive-by shootings and murders with guns are not commonplace at all. Knives and drugs are rampant, however.

However, as the bumper sticker in America reads..."If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."

Steve and I were on our way home last night from the Mornington Peninsula southwest of Melbourne. After a pleasant dinner at a Thai food restaurant, Steve decided to take the scenic way home along the Nepean Highway that hugs Port Philip Bay. As we approached the "Big City", we passed a taxi van. It was nearly 10 p.m. Curious me, I usually look at vehicles we pass. No reason...just looking.

This yellow "city van" was going slower than the speed limit. As we cruised by in our sedan, I glanced at the passenger windows and noticed a 20-something-year-old man in the back seat sporting a blue bandanna wrapped around his curly, dark hair. Strange thing was, he had his face pressed against the window, making monkey-like faces at me.

"Well, that's attractive," I thought.

Then my eyes shifted toward the front of the van as we passed and the world as I knew it passed in slow-motion.

One of the passengers had what appeared to be a nickle-plated, 9 mm handgun stuck out of an open window and "dry-fired" directly at my face as we went by. I heard a "click" as we passed. My window was open as it was a really warm evening, and I heard the loud "click."

It felt as if all my breath went out of me. My hands and toes went tingly-numb. I felt motionless.

In an aside, have you ever heard the "click" of a gun pointed at you in a moving car or anywhere else? The thoughts that go through the mind are so fast. Did it miss a round? Are there more? Did the bullet get stuck? Will they catch up and finish the job?

Stunned, it took a minute or two to register, and I said to Steve (according to him, because I don't remember this part), "That was a gun."

"What?" he said.

"Someone in that taxi van pointed a gun at me and clicked it (dry-fired.) I don't know if it was real. It looked real, and sounded real. It clicked. That was definitely a gun of some type."

He braked suddenly so we could slow down and let the van catch up to us again ("I was ready to hit the brakes if I saw a gun," he explained. I was ready to hit the deck! My stomach was so tense, I thought I'd chuck my dinner.) As the van passed by, I saw four young adults laughing themselves silly, but no gun. Thank God. I was terrified. I got the license plate number and a pretty clear description of those I could see in the window because my senses were on high alert. Then Steve accelerated ahead.

Then I called 000 which is the equivalent of America's 911. I gave the dispatcher information. Surprisingly, the van stayed behind us for several miles, and we kept the police updated on their location and behavior. Several times, Steve saw someone hanging out of the van window brandishing the gun at other cars as we traveled along.

Long story short, the police caught up with the culprits, let us know, kept us informed, asked if we would be willing to serve reports of the incident...and we were the first, but not the only ones who filed a complaint.

The gun was fake, thank God. But in Australia, as in America, brandishing any type of gun, real or fake, is a felony. Those "young adults" in the van likely had the "scheisen heisen" scared out of them when cop cars from all over the St. Kilda area in Melbourne swarmed the taxi with lights and sirens blaring, and police with guns drawn ordered them all out with hands up. An officer called me later and said four were in custody and asked if Steve and I would give a statement. "Of course, absolutely," I said.

He thanked me for being a good citizen.

I smiled.

I'm not "officially" a citizen yet.

But as of last night, I am proud of Melbourne's Men in Blue.

The only problem is that the adrenaline rush I got from a "gun" being pointed at me kept me awake most of the night.

In fact, everytime I think of it, my heart pounds.