EDIT: I guess 16 years ago this is how I felt. A lot has changed. Some of my points in there about guns being inanimate objects are logically true, but it completely ignores so much. And it's so callous. Children... real children... have to be afraid in school. They might die in school. How is that okay? We need to do something. We need research; licensing; registration; and yes... more laws. We need to do something because the current situation is not okay and has not been okay for decades. I'm not saying take away people's guns. I'm saying we need to do everything we can to protect children and other innocent people. And guns are a tool involved in the deaths of too many people. Even if they are inanimate, they are a problem.
I'll leave the rest of this post untouched, but I do not agree with it anymore...
So since I already made a sort of hurried attempt at getting my thoughts out about religion, I figured I'd play with another hot-button topic: Guns.
I'll say right off the bat that I believe in and support the individual's right own firearms. I hope to explain why in a manner that might be helpful to those who want to ban guns in the U.S., so they begin to understand why banning guns would be very bad.
First, an irrefutable point: There are lots of guns in the world, and lots of guns already in the United States. They exist.
Now we already have lots of gun control laws in the country, and if you do any kind of searching on Google for stats on guns brought into the country illegally... you might find yourself wondering what the hell our government is doing. I'm guessing they're doing the best they can. The fact is, the government has been trying to stop illegal trafficking of firearms for a long time. Many years. Decades even.
So let's look at a hypothetical situation. Let's say that the government passes the horrendously stupid law that says United States citizens are no longer allowed to own firearms of any kind. Now let's put aside the idea of an armed rebellion. Let's assume all the law-abiding citizens of the country agreed, and turned in all their guns. Happiness and Peace ensues right? Hell no. Think back to the part about how the government already can't keep guns out of the country, and how it already can't keep guns out of the hands of criminals. A law that stops citizens from owning guns is a law that condemns those citizens to a fate chosen by criminals.
Now do some research on the percentage of firearms used in violent crime which are obtained illegally. Even if the government managed to ban guns for its law abiding citizens, it wouldn't put any kind of real damper on the violent crime rate with guns. In fact, in other places in the world where stricker gun control laws have been passed (you can find this with Google searches too) crime rates have increased. Criminals have a good reason to believe that their victims will be unarmed... there's less risk for the criminals. So it makes sense even if there weren't real world example (Australia has had problems with this).
One last thing along this line of thinking. If I'm at home, and I hear someone break in (smash a window, bust the door in, pick the lock, whatever), I already know a few things about this person. First, I know it's not law enforcement officials because they announce themselves. They have to. Second, there's a good chance the person is a significant danger to me. I know that because any smart criminal is going to do a little research on their target first. If they are breaking into a house, they could easily avoid me by breaking in while I'm at work. So if they chose to break in while I'm there, it's because they want something with me. Maybe just to kill me. And if they're a stupid criminal, and broke in thining I wasn't home, I suppose they might just run away, but they might also panic and try to hurt me. In any case... if someone is breaking in while I'm home... they are a danger to me.
So assuming I notice early, and have twenty seconds or so to think, i can chose one of three options. First and probably safest is to exit through another door or window and run away and call the police from there. Depending on the bad guy, you might lose a few things, but not your life. Or if they're determined to kill you, very likely running away won't get you anything, because they'll try again. Second option is to call the police immediately and hide somewhere in the house. This option is the stupidest, but those unable to handle the third option (coming up), and who got cornered somehow might not have any other choice. Unfortunately, this means waiting for three to fifteen minutes while police try to get to you. Any person with a frying pan can kill you in less than three minutes and still get away before the police get there. Hiding is a bad idea. The third option is to fight back. And if you are one of those responsible American citizens that took shooting and gun safety courses, and you own a gun... you might have time to get that gun and shoot the guy who's breaking into your house. It's within your legal rights to do so... and i would argue that it's within your moral rights as well, though that's a whole other blog.
Now that we have that defined, it boggles my mind that so many people in this country seem to want the government to take guns away from us. Do these people think the government is capable of protecting us? I'm 100% confident that it is not possible for the government to protect us. I'm quite sure that if someone broke into my house, it would be up to me to do something about it. And I hope I have the presence of mind if it ever does happen to get my gun, find a defensible position that the intruder is less likely to notice right off, and then after I get a look at the person to make sure I'm not shooting someone I shouldn't, pull the trigger... maybe a couple times for good measure, and then call the police.
Now of course, most people will never have to deal with this. But some might, and I refuse to deprive those people of an extremely effective means of self defense. I will not support any laws that takes more rights away from citizens with respect to guns.
Okay, we all understand now (I hope) that gun control laws simply aren't capable of accomplishing what some gun control law supporters believe they will. They can't protect us from guns. But I've misspoken. And this leads me to why gun control laws are not the answer. Guns are not capable being a threat to anyone. They are inanimate objects. Guns are handled by people. Laws can not stop a person from feeling. If a person wants to kill another... there hundreds of ways other than through the use of a gun to do so. Poison, explosive, frying pan, knife, baseball bat, golf club, cricket bat, fire wood, broom handle, pillow, bare hands, rock, car, tire iron, a little push from a tall precipice...
The real problem isn't guns. It's people. So if we want to do something about making our lives freer and safer... it won't be accomplished by taking our rights away from each other.
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The only argument that people bring up that I'm anywhere near hesitant about it deaths of children by firearm. That concept right there is awful, and I obviously hope that children will stop dying long before their times. But I do have some responses to this.
First... more children die each year in swimming pool related accidents than gun related accidents and events. Look it up on Google (I love how readily available information is). Look up drunk driving accidents while you're at it. The numbers I'm asking you to find are not meant to say that children dying in gun related incidents is okay. It's meant to give you perspective. Guns aren't bad by themselves... just like swimming pools.
Next, go back to my previous statements about how guns are inanimate objects. They have no ability to make decisions. Therefore it is impossible to assign any kind of blame on them. Look to the people wielding them. Some people use guns with malicious intent. Some use them to protect when there's no other choice. What we need to hope for is that citizens of the United States will take some responsibility for their own actions and for their own safety. My father owns guns. He taught me what they were and to avoid them when I was young. I listened because my father was scary, and the prospect of killing or dying was horrendous to me. My parents raised me correctly. When I was ten or so, my father started teaching me how to use guns. We went to a shooting range and practiced for a long time. I already knew what they could do. After all the practice, I knew how to handle guns to avoid bad results and to gain safety. My parents raised me correctly. If I had ever stepped out of line even a little... I would have been smacked down so hard and fast that I would have had to learn from it. You dont treat guns lightly. They are not toys. What I'm getting at is that when children die from a gun shot wound... it was irresponsible actions of parents and guardians long before that time that lead to it. If it's even possible for a kid to get a gun from his parents to bring to school... those parents screwed up big time. If kids just scream and die in the face of such a thing... their parents screwed up in not teaching them what to do in emergencies like that.
Yes... it would be ideal to have a world where there are no bad people willing to kill for hatred, anger, greed, or entertainment. But we don't live in that world. And laws can't change that. People will continue to die around the world for stupid things. Please don't hold the false belief that taking my gun away from me will somehow make you and your kids safer. Please stop being afraid and if you're up to it... go take a shooting class. See if you can learn something. See if maybe you can be one of those responsible citizens who will stand up and protect themselves and their families.
Guns are not evil. They are inanimate.
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