This week US Secretary of State John Kerry signed an international agreement on gun control. The agreement has to be ratified by the senate (more about that in a minute). One of this nation’s worst mass shootings at the Navy Yard in Washington DC is still fresh on everyone’s mind, although the initial hysteria has died down a little. And the Vice President is still heading up the effort to enact further federal gun control measures as a result of Sandy Hook and other shootings.
I’d like to take a step back and hopefully take a fresh look at the issue of gun control. Having said that let me acknowledge that just about everything that could be said about gun control on each side has been said already. The debate is heated and passionate. Nevertheless, I think we could all benefit from a change in outlook, so I am going to give it a try.
Let me first acknowledge that there are problems in our society. The problems with our society are too numerous to list here so let me narrow the subject to gun violence and let me suggest there are two separate problems we seem to be worried about. The first involves mass shootings such as the one at the Navy Yard and the second involves the daily gun violence reported on the news each evening.
Mass shootings are a terrible thing, and everyone wishes they would stop. We would all like to find a solution to this problem; a way to keep them from happening. When you take a look at these incidents, they appear to be isolated events involving one or two angry and emotionally troubled people who break with reality. Sandy Hook, Columbine, Ft. Hood, and the Navy Yard all involved people where the warning signs should have been apparent. This latest incident involved a shooter that was hearing voices. These folks are usually mentally ill and have often gone off their medications.
Let me suggest that we need to do a better job of identifying those with serious mental and emotional issues and making sure they do not have access to firearms. This is a long-standing position of the NRA and I think there is clear justification for such a policy. Unfortunately HIPA and other laws make it difficult to enforce. I do not want to dilute our medical privacy laws but I think we should look for ways to maintain privacy while keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.
As a society we need to come up with ways to recognize when someone may be capable of mass violence, and find ways to get them the help they need. I know it sounds simplistic, but although it is not a complete solution one thing that will help is for family members and neighbors and friends to have more contact with each other and to step in when there appears to be a problem. We need to be aware of how those close to us are doing and as our society gets more impersonal we appear to have less contact and familiarity.
Since mass shootings are not random events but are committed by people with “issues”, I would be ok with a “no-firearm” list. For example, if you have a couple of “incidents” where your gun goes off into your neighbor’s apartment, or you shoot out someone’s tire; you should be put on a list of people who are not authorized to own or possess guns. If you have been convicted of a crime with a gun you should be on the list.
Background checks to see if someone is on the “no firearm” list would be a reasonable requirement before selling someone a firearm. But we should be aware that whatever laws we pass will be broken. Criminals break laws, and gun laws are no different. Putting someone on a list will not prevent them from accessing a firearm by illegal means.
And what about banning certain types of guns and ammunition? As we are all aware by now, the Navy Yard shooter did not have an AR-15. He had a simple shotgun, plus a handgun he took from one of his victims. I do not think banning so-called assault weapons is either possible or effective.
What about having a list of every gun owner and what kind of guns and ammunition they have? First, that list, however meticulously you wish to compile it, will be incorrect before the ink dries. It will not include, for example, criminals. It will be a pretty good listing of law-abiding citizens with guns who will never use them inappropriately. In other words, it will be worthless.
Let’s move on to the second category of gun problem, the daily violence that occurs on the streets of major cities. First we should acknowledge that although it receives far less attention than mass shootings, it is a far greater problem. Chicago has banned all firearms and is now the gun death capital of the US. So much for more gun laws. Many of these gun crimes are committed by gang members with simple unregistered handguns. Much of this crime is black on black crime in the inner cities.
Since guns have already been outlawed in Chicago, we probably need to look to a different solution. Chicago has the strictest gun laws in the nation, followed by the District of Columbia. The Navy Yard and Sandy Hook were gun free zones, as was Fort Hood. Mexico has banned all guns, they are not permitted. And yet, would you rather spend the night in Juarez or El Paso?
The solution to the crime in the inner cities is to change the culture in the inner cities. This is no easy task, and it will not happen overnight. We need to restore a respect for life, we need to get kids back in school so they can be educated, and we need to change attitudes about life and work and honor.
You do not hear much about the gun crime in Chicago because it does not fit the agenda of the administration or mainstream media. There is no easy fix. And yet when there is an unfortunate event like the one last week, it is immediately politicized and the media runs with false information in an attempt to convince people the simple solution to the problem is to “control guns”. It is not.
And now I would like to give you my concerns about the motives behind this movement to “control guns”. First, the issue has absolutely nothing to do with hunting or skeet shooting. When Piers Morgan asks why anyone needs a certain firearm to shoot a deer it is an attempt at misdirection.
When the authors of our constitution wrote the second amendment, they were not concerned with hunting or sports. They were concerned with self protection and tyranny. The reason people in Mexico are so fearful of the drug cartels and other criminals is that they are not allowed to own guns themselves, and so they have very little protection from criminal elements.
But the real reason that Americans are bitterly clinging to their guns and ammunition is that we fear our government. We do in fact see Tyranny lurking around every corner. Look at the recent actions or the IRS. Look at the recently revealed power of the NSA and PRISM. Look at the general abuse of power that is occurring. We will keep our guns, thank you. As you are probably aware the sales of AR-15’s and ammunition have skyrocketed. 22 caliper bullets are hard to come by, as people are increasing their stockpiles.
And the citizens are not the only ones. The DHS has made a massive, almost unfathomable purchase of guns and ammunition, and despite questioning from congress they have not done a very good job of explaining why. IRS agents have been training with AR-15’s, getting ready for their new role as enforcers of Obamacare.
The push to limit guns and to create a list of who has what guns and ammunition is scary, because that is what a government would do before seizing control. Can’t happen? It just happened in Egypt, but fortunately the Egyptian people, along with the military threw out the Muslim Brotherhood before it was too late. It happened in Turkey. China and Russia have a long history or “controlling guns”, as does North Korea.
Thank goodness we are Americans. The federal government can pass whatever laws it wishes, but enforcing them is another thing. As the old Greek saying goes, “Come, and take…” We will keep our guns because we are the guardians of liberty. We are those who must stand against Tyranny, and shed our blood if necessary to defend the constitution and keep our children and grandchildren free.
On the UN Arms treaty John Kerry signed:
http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/09/john-kerry-will-sign-un-small-arms-treaty-wednesday/#ixzz2fxVKkDAk
On Homeland Security’s 1.6 Billion rounds of ammunition:
On the recent recall in Colorado:
Here is another Democrat solution, no surprise.
People will always disagree on statistics but here are a few.
Here are a few good articles on gun control:
On the recent navy yard shooting:
Finally, if you look at nothing else please watch these three videos.
In closing, let me say that the solution to the violence in our culture today is to change the culture. We need better education, stronger families, and respect for others. For more on changing the culture read here:
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