As most of you know, I support the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. I believe the purpose behind this right being enumerated in the Constitution is intended to invest the People with the tangible means of enforcing the power that does belong to them. To us. We are the people, and we are also the government. Through representation as outlined in the Constitution, we are a Republic that has the people as the base of power. And it is the People owning and possessing the means to enforce that power that could, under some extreme circumstance, prevent some tyrant from usurping the People’s government.
But in placing that protection and right in the Constitution, the founders were not intending that people abuse that right and murder each other in random attacks. It is clear that the founders would expect us to take steps as needed to protect the people from each other. And I cannot imagine that they would have endorsed allowing all persons to have access to firearms.
The killings in the cities is often associated with other crime, such as gang warfare and criminal drug syndications. Those are serious issues and I believe they need to be first addressed by addressing inequity and opportunity in our nation. It is no small matter to notice that the kinds of violence seen in most of those locations is virtually non-existent in affluent and middle class neighborhoods. Fix that, and the related shootings will shrink.
But when it comes to these mass killings, we are in a different territory. Here it is persons who must be considered, by any reasonable standard, mentally unhinged. We all know this. This isn’t an 800 pound gorilla lurking around the corner, it is plain to see. Who but a deranged lunatic would do such a thing? All of us, regardless of view of the Second Amendment, or political party, or any other difference can see this.
There are some people who should not have dangerous weapons.
I am a gun owner. A responsible gun owner. They are safely stored, and properly kept away from anyone who should not have them. And I know many, many others just like me. And there are about a half-billion guns in this country owned by people just like me. These guns, including tens of millions of the semi-automatic rifles that look so very similar to the rifles carried by our military, are owned by responsible people just like me. These are not the guns that are killing people. Because these are not the people that would go out and do this. These are responsible gun owners who have reason to own them, even if the rest of us don’t know their reason or if we disagree with those reasons. The first thing to note is that they are not harming anyone.
But there are people who should not have guns like these, and yet they still get them.
This is the nut of the problem that needs to be addressed. It isn’t the type of gun that we as a reasonable and responsible people should be allowed to own. We have already demonstrated that you are not in danger from those people owning guns.
It is the people who should not have guns but who have them anyway that is the problem.
It is time to address this issue. And everyone, especially those who strongly advocate for private gun ownership to come to the table and bring solutions.
How do we keep those lunatics from getting guns? And what mechanism should we have for getting them away from those who become lunatics?
It seems to be that universal background checks, waiting periods, and red flag laws should be an obvious start. The potential benefits of these regulations would far surpass the potential negatives.
And perhaps requiring an advocate. Someone from your community who would vouch for you.
In any case, we cannot in any practical way remove the guns from the masses of people. That path leads inevitably to civil war, and rolls over impossible legal and political hurdles on the way.
But we must address the question of who has them. The People have the right to conduct themselves in the affairs of life without fear of rampaging lunatics.