The Gun Issue, Part 2

On Saturday, thousands of people (even people outside of the US) marched in support of the movement founded and lead by the young survivors of the Florida school shooting. It is more than sad, actually obscene, that the gun supporters (NRA and others) refuse to engage in dialogue and merely demean the young people and their followers. That is genuine cowardice.

No one that I know or have heard has called for the elimination of hunting guns. I suppose that some people consider an AR 15 to be a hunting weapon, though I think a sign I saw responds to those people —- “If you need an AR 15 to hunt, you should find a better hobby.”

I think there are really two levels of gun issues. The present issue is AR 15s and AK 47s and similar military-style assault weapons. The other issue is hand guns. Without a doubt, hand guns are involved in the majority of annual deaths from gun violence. In that sense it is an even more serious issue. Nevertheless, the present issue stems from the use of assault weapons to attack schools and other large gatherings of people young and old. There is something terribly wrong when parents send their children off to school in the morning and cannot be sure that they will be safe.

If researchers and commentators are correct, the majority of gun owners in our country are willing to have stronger restrictions on the purchase or sale of guns. Even large numbers of police and military personnel believe that assault weapons should not be available to the public. But the bottom line of defense of those who believe in free access to assault weapons seems to be among those who hate and fear government and who believe that their weapons are the one line of defense against government enslaving them. I find this argument entirely unconvincing. First of all, it seems historically true that people lose their freedom and move into tyrannies slowly and by their own doing. Italy, Spain, Germany, China, and Cuba are recent examples. By the time they realize what they have done to themselves it is really too late to clean and load their arsenals. Secondly, modern governments have multiple ways in which they can control and overcome people — cancelling their bank accounts and credit cards, intervening in their employment and housing, invading their homes and throwing them in jail overnight. That fellow with his AR 15 is going to be pretty confused by the time the swat team surrounds his house and breaks through his front door. In short, it seems to me that the only way to protect ourselves from an abusive government is to participate in good government and try to make government work well. We have a well founded Constitution and we will be safe if we follow it. That includes the Second Amendment, by the way. If we really followed it, all the assault weapons would be in the National Guard where they belong.

Currently, there are two big problems in American government. Huge rich organizations like the NRA literally own Congress and the Presidency so those who are assigned the task of governing us are actually acting in the interests of these organizations rather than for the interests of the people. The second problem is that we now have a President who is born to be a tyrant and has no respect for the Constitution and is probably mentally ill.