Gun Control is a loaded topic these days. At the risk of politicizing the recent tragedies at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the shooting of fire fighters in upstate New York, I’m going to share my strong opinion on this matter. May God help and bless all those affected by these horrific events.
First of all, let me acknowledge that smart and rational people sit on both sides of the gun control issue. It can be a very polarizing topic but there is authentic passion on both sides. Many have put much effort into articulating each point of view. Therefore, my thoughts here are personal and don’t bring any new thought to the topic other than my own narrative.
The second amendment does protect the rights of individuals to bear arms. However, any laws (or social norms) need to be seen in the context of the times. Without that perspective, we’d still have outdated laws such as slavery and women’s right to vote.
When the founding founders of the United States of America wrote up the constitution, the second amendment made a lot of sense. Most of the people lived in rural areas within or next to the vast and dangerous wilderness of the times. Guns provided necessary protection. Perhaps more importantly, the newly-founded country had just fought for independence against the tyranny of a distant monarchy. At the time, armed militias were a critical part of the successful revolution.
So, you can see where I’m going with this. The infrastructure of the country doesn’t require us to deal with the wilderness for most of us. And the technologies of the modern US military make it impossible for any citizen or a group of citizens to effectively arm themselves enough to fight the government.
The point that I really wanted to make, however, is that our (collective) unwillingness to acknowledge the net negative impact of trying to adhere to these “outdated” notions is creating a society that is more violent than any other in the developed world. That, in my opinion is just NOT acceptable. In the end, the big losers are the citizens of this great country who live in increasing fear.
We have the biggest economy in the world and people still immigrate here looking for the American Dream of building financial independence. The US offers the most fluid access system to capital in the world. Yet, we won’t protect our own citizens from within. Our refusal to make gun ownership a privilege rather than a right undermines our position as a world leader of democracy. How do you think China and Russia are interpreting our state’s refusal to incorporate tougher gun laws? The U.S. gun homicide rate is 30 times that of France or Australia, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, and 12 times higher than the average for other developed countries.
It’s amazing to me when some Americans speak appallingly about the lawless violence in other nations such as Brazil and South Africa. Hello? Right now, the NRA wants us to have armed guards at all our elementary schools. Think about the impact of doing that to the general psyche of our society.
Even in a country where citizens would seemingly need guns like Israel, the gun laws are much more strict with regular testing requirements.
At a certain point, people have to take the “common sense” test. Solomon was a wise man who could take all the facts and make the correct common sense decision. In business, leaders do that all the time. Skilled people can make rational arguments for any side of an argument. Some get paid to do that. But when someone stands up and tells the nation that we need armed guards in our elementary schools, the people will realize how desperate that sounds. I believe such desperation will be the beginning of the end for that point of view.
I actually get paid money do make the “best” decisions for our business based upon all the facts presented. Surprisingly, these decisions are usually are pretty obvious despite the clamor from all sides.
I see this issue around gun control the same way. Over time, I believe we as a society will choose to do the right thing and make gun ownership a privilege and not a right like other developed nations. Unfortunately, like most changes, it will take time and sometimes tragedy to get us moving in the right direction.
It will take time and continued commitment by all those willing to say “owning a weapon is not why I value America”. Time and technology have swung the pendulum from “need to protect” to “desire for weapons”.
I believe as you’ve said that rational, critical thinking people can see the common sense decision just as was the case for slavery and women’s right to vote. Just because weapons have always been at our disposal … doesn’t mean they should not be controlled now. I believe that change is a constant. The worse mistake anyone can make is not recognizing change – to ignore or not recognize change means existing out of context where whatever one does is based on nothing more than random luck or bad luck.
When will this become a priority? It is sad to say it, but only after further tragedy. Fear of special interest groups like the NRA and the incredible influence their leaders wheel will continue to put a strangle hold on elected officials.
The only way forward is to continue open discussion. This will, by its nature, take time and invite heated confrontation. But, practical Americans of all ethnicity, gender, religion, and economic means will continue to align (slowly) for the plain and simple reason you’ve stated so well above:
… common sense
Pete, well said. Not recognizing change means existing out of context and eventually over time becoming irrelevant. We need to be a continued vocal voice for common sense about gun control (in today’s context) as our society will suffer until we do change.
The sad truth is there is even a more potential violent trend now. My brother in law works for a sporting goods store, a large one in Seattle and he said they are breaking records nearly every day in gun sales. Teachers and all professions now bringing these things to their place of work or concealed in their car. Someone blows a fuse and can reach into their briefcase, lunch box or purse. Great post John, I am in full agreement.
[...] This post is a rebuttal to the post written by John Song titled, “Context, Common Sense for Stricter Gun Control Laws“. [...]
We certainly need an open discussion on this topic.
Making stricter gun control laws is not going to curb random acts of violence in a country where the average 16 year-old has seen over 200,000 televised murders, half of which are enacted in the same manner as how people died in the holocaust.
The real assault weapons are the emotions of violence that is broadcasted on television day after day. Watching television is a form of meditation. If you really want to see less tragic acts of violence in America, see what happens when people start boycotting network stations that televise random acts of violence as part of their programming and watch how quickly things will change.
I can’t understand how people can ask “why?” as a major part of the population enjoys watching people get murdered on television as a form of entertainment. The only people who want to see change are those who refuse to view the destruction of human life as a form of entertainment. This whole thing about making tougher gun laws is just a distraction to the real issue at hand. It really has nothing to with a solution, though it may be a tool used in the crime; it is not the crime itself. The IRA is a willing scapegoat. Debates over such will always be used by the media to disarm people. Times are changing, really? Discussion about tougher gun laws should have been taken care of when JFK was assassinated, later John Lennon. If you have a political agenda that you need to accomplish, you start getting the American people emotional over some tragedy and you will see that things will change but not towards the development of peace and the evolution of man.
I feel sorry for all the people who buy into the media’s shortcut solution and never get to the root of the problem. You mean to tell me you can entertain Americans with PG and R rated “fictional snuff” films and no one can see that the desire to kill people is created with what we entertain our minds with not the tools that do the job. I feel sorry for you.
Posted on Kendall’s site. Wanted to reshare.
… I think the argument of countries with legal/illegal gun ownership correlated to homocide rate is pretty invalid on both sides. Switzerland vs. Brazil? If you look at 1) Crime Rate 2) Employment 3) Education this would be a valid indicator for Violent Crimes. Look at Japan and Korea which has no private gun ownership and the homocide rate there? I’m not making a restrict gun ownership stance, just stating both sides need to look further than citing statistics from other countries.