Some Thoughts on Gun Control
Let me state up front that I am a gun owner. My father was a gun collector, and I was taught to shoot at a young age. I have a .22 rifle, a shotgun, and a revolver on loan from my brother. I hope I will never have to use them in self defense.
I welcome the national discussion on guns and violence, even though I am terribly saddened by the reason for it. But some of the ideas being tossed around make me very, very nervous.
For one thing, I don't believe that the answer to solving our gun problem is more guns. "An armed society is a polite society." The argument is that if more people had guns, they could stop the crazies who go on a rampage. These people want teachers to carry guns, more citizens to carry guns, and fewer laws restricting access to guns because guns are necessary for self defense.
I get it that some people feel safer if they have the ability to protect themselves from the "other guy," the bad guy who wants to use a gun for harm or to commit a crime. The problem is, in a widely armed society, EVERYBODY is potentially the "other guy" with a gun.
Would you really feel safer in a world where everybody carried a gun? Really? Think about that for a minute. Your crazy neighbor with anger management issues? The irresponsible 20-something who can't stop losing her cell-phone? The employee you just gave a poor performance review to? The drunk guy, the woman with PMS, the jumpy student who hasn't slept in three days and is high on caffiene? You'll feel safer if all of them are carrying around a weapon that can kill you instantaneously from a distance? I wouldn't. Sorry. I don't want them to be armed.
To my mind, an armed society is a society in which every conflict, no matter how trivial or silly, becomes the source for a possible killing. I don't want to have to live in a world where I know that if I look at someone wrong, they might just decide to blow me away.
The problem with encouraging everyone to carrying guns is that not everyone who will carry a gun will use it responsibly or reasonably. It's the idiot factor. Do you honestly trust the majority of the populace to use and handle guns safely and responsibly? There are idiot drivers who get a lot of people killed, and there will be an equal number of idiot gun toters that will get people killed. Encouraging people to carry guns is not a good idea, and it's not the answer. It only acerbates the problem. The more guns out there, the more guns that will be misused. The wide availability of guns is, in fact, part of the problem.
"People kill people, guns don't kill people." That is technically true, but people use guns to kill people more efficiently and effectively than any other weapon except perhaps explosives. People without guns may also kill people, but they aren't as fast, efficient, or effective at it. So, maybe it's a good idea to make it more difficult to kill people by limiting their weapon of choice.
I welcome the national discussion on guns and violence, even though I am terribly saddened by the reason for it. But some of the ideas being tossed around make me very, very nervous.
For one thing, I don't believe that the answer to solving our gun problem is more guns. "An armed society is a polite society." The argument is that if more people had guns, they could stop the crazies who go on a rampage. These people want teachers to carry guns, more citizens to carry guns, and fewer laws restricting access to guns because guns are necessary for self defense.
I get it that some people feel safer if they have the ability to protect themselves from the "other guy," the bad guy who wants to use a gun for harm or to commit a crime. The problem is, in a widely armed society, EVERYBODY is potentially the "other guy" with a gun.
Would you really feel safer in a world where everybody carried a gun? Really? Think about that for a minute. Your crazy neighbor with anger management issues? The irresponsible 20-something who can't stop losing her cell-phone? The employee you just gave a poor performance review to? The drunk guy, the woman with PMS, the jumpy student who hasn't slept in three days and is high on caffiene? You'll feel safer if all of them are carrying around a weapon that can kill you instantaneously from a distance? I wouldn't. Sorry. I don't want them to be armed.
To my mind, an armed society is a society in which every conflict, no matter how trivial or silly, becomes the source for a possible killing. I don't want to have to live in a world where I know that if I look at someone wrong, they might just decide to blow me away.
The problem with encouraging everyone to carrying guns is that not everyone who will carry a gun will use it responsibly or reasonably. It's the idiot factor. Do you honestly trust the majority of the populace to use and handle guns safely and responsibly? There are idiot drivers who get a lot of people killed, and there will be an equal number of idiot gun toters that will get people killed. Encouraging people to carry guns is not a good idea, and it's not the answer. It only acerbates the problem. The more guns out there, the more guns that will be misused. The wide availability of guns is, in fact, part of the problem.
"People kill people, guns don't kill people." That is technically true, but people use guns to kill people more efficiently and effectively than any other weapon except perhaps explosives. People without guns may also kill people, but they aren't as fast, efficient, or effective at it. So, maybe it's a good idea to make it more difficult to kill people by limiting their weapon of choice.