Gun Control

Well this is a new subject for me. Honestly I've been afraid of guns my whole life. The very thought of a bullet striking a human is just gruesome to me. The ease at which a bullet can leave a gun barrel with a slight movement of a trigger scares the heck out of me. At the same time I appreciate the 2nd Amendment.

With the Senate rejecting gun control legislation recently it's important to note that the violence committed in Boston, killing, maiming, and harming over 170 people was not gun related. People are going to kill if they want to. 

It's also important to note that it was an amendment to the constitution that authorizes citizens to keep and bear arms. This was not a law passed by congress with pressure from lobbyists. Amendments are not passed easily. All 27 Amendments have been ratified after two-thirds of the House and Senate approve of the proposal and send it to the states for a vote. Then, three-fourths of the states must affirm the proposed Amendment.

This amendment was not passed so people could hunt, or target shoot, or defend one's home from intruders. It was passed to aid in preventing tyranny. Arguments have been made against that statement but the amendment stands in spite of those arguments.

The natural right of revolution, as espoused by both John Locke and Thomas Jefferson, was a concept that a tyrannical government could — and should — be overthrown by the people when that government no longer looked after the interests of the people being governed. Locke even described armed revolution as a duty and an obligation, rather than as an option citizens could decide against.

You may not like guns but you should respect the effort and reasons that went into creating and approving the second amendment. The idea of tyranny seems ridiculous today. We do have a civil society. But one wonders if the right to keep and bear arms is contributing to that civility.

I am saddened by any deaths, including those by gun violence. But the laws that have recently been proposed, or even put into law in states like New York, will only effect honest citizens. Those who want guns will obtain them even if it is contrary to the law.

I don't hunt. I do enjoy target shooting. I seriously doubt that I would be able to use a gun to defend my home in the case of an intruder. For me that leaves only one good reason for there to be an estimated 300 million or more guns in this country.

There has been a lot written about, and talked about, regarding gun control lately. Those that support gun control believe that if they make enough laws they will lower murder buy guns to some level they feel is acceptable. I certainly hope they don't think it can be reduced to zero, that is unrealistic.

Here is what I believe. On the whole those who want to have guns will have them regardless of the laws put in place to restrict them. Even in countries where gun ownership is 100% restricted those who want guns will get them, even if they have to be smuggled into the country. So the laws are totally ineffective. On the other hand law abiding citizens, with over 300 million guns in this country, are bound to have their guns involved in some small percentage of the country's murder statistics in spite of their good intentions.  Laws that restrict law abiding citizens would potentially reduce some number of murders but at what cost.

What happens if we were to magically eliminate all of the legally citizen owned guns in this country.

1) Some small percentage of murders would be reduced, but if people didn't have guns some would find other ways to kill if they wanted to.

2) Gun related murder would likely not drop significantly. In fact it is quite possible it would increase. You can't deny that if there is no resistance then criminals would be bolder. It's important to note that gun-free zones in this country are not gun murder free by any means. Statistics can be twisted in any direction but gun-free zones appear to be failing in their intended purpose.

3) I have no idea how effective 300,000,000 guns are in keeping other people from invading this country. The whole idea seems quite ridiculous. We do pay the federal government to protect us, but the size of our military has been shrunk quite dramatically in the past few years that Obama and the liberals have been in control.  If this continues, and all the guns were taken away from the citizens would we really be weakened to the point where someone would attempt to invade. Again this seems so far-fetched that I can't imagine it.

4) The arguments for a federal clamp down on our citizenry are far less far-fetched than #3 above. I don't want to list a series of things that pop up on the internet or in print or on media because I don't want to add to conspiratorial theories.  But I do have to say this is what worries me the most; more than the murders that have occurred each year by guns. This is what I believe the 2nd amendment is all about. This is the primary reason I support gun ownership.

About a year ago I purchased a .22LR rifle. I had one once when I was in my 20s. This is the first gun I've owned in 40+ years. I bought it because my 18 year old son bought a gun and I thought it would be good fun to target shoot together. The .22LR was a step up from the two .177 pellet rifles I've had over the years. The .22 is great because for the first time I can load more than one projectile at a time.

Last year I also went with my son to an indoor shooting range. On that day I, for the first time in my life, held and shot a handgun. The light trigger on that gun really surprised me and added to the comment I made in the first paragraph - it scared me. I couldn't get the thought out of my head that someone might accidentally pull one of those triggers and kill someone unintentionally. The emotional damage that would incur is beyond thinking. However I recently bought a 9mm pistol.

Truthfully about 99% of the reason I bought the handgun was out of protest against government pushing back against the 2nd amendment. It still scares me and I fully intend that the pistol be locked, stored in our small fire safe, and separated from the bullets in our house. It will never be used to defend our house against intruders; frankly I'd rather die than kill someone else. I doubt if the federal government will ever invade my house. It is purely a protest. I may buy more guns out of protest.