Guns. Gun rights. Gun violence. Gun control. Gun culture. Guns in America. So much noise!
I am a gun owner. I am not a gun enthusiast.
In my imaginary perfect world, there would be no guns. No violence. No threats. Anywhere. But of course this is just a fantasy, at least until the second coming.
My next solution, half a step closer to reality, would be that only women have guns. The trigger would not work if you had a Y chromsome.
I am a woman.
But I am a realist, and I realize that guns are part of the American way and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. As American, guns have always been with us, since the frontier days when they aided our survival and insured our dominance over those without. We don't know a time with out them. Our country's founding fathers didn't want to even image it. (They were a brilliant, dedicated group of men, but far from infallible. Our Constitution is a powerful, thoughtful document and a bright guiding light of principles, but it's not unquestionable perfection.)
Whenever you have a right, or a freedom, there are those that will use for ill. Every right will result in some abuse and so gun rights beget gun violence.
In a world where there are guns, I want the right to ownership. And I realize that I may pay for that right in the worst kind of way. The likelyhood of needing a gun for self defense depends to some degree on individual circumstances. As well as the chances of becoming a victim of gun violence.
I accept that guns will always be involved in violence, random and otherwise. I accept that angry, violent people will always exist, that violence is part of the human condition, and guns will sometimes be involved. I do not accept the amount of killing power that an assualt-style weapons avail the average angry American. An angr, ill person with a baseball bat, or even a handgun, is much less lethal than that same person with semi-automatic rifle.
In 1994 we had an assault weapons ban. It was intended to reduce the lethality of mass shootings when they do happen. It worked. Gun massacres fell during the ban. In 2004 the ban was allowed to expire and the genie flew out of bottle. I think we need to cram it back in. It may take generations, but I think it can be done.
In a modern, first world society, we can do so much better. I think about the reasons why we are so angry and violent and what can be done about it.
I am a gun owner. I am not a gun enthusiast.
In my imaginary perfect world, there would be no guns. No violence. No threats. Anywhere. But of course this is just a fantasy, at least until the second coming.
My next solution, half a step closer to reality, would be that only women have guns. The trigger would not work if you had a Y chromsome.
I am a woman.
But I am a realist, and I realize that guns are part of the American way and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. As American, guns have always been with us, since the frontier days when they aided our survival and insured our dominance over those without. We don't know a time with out them. Our country's founding fathers didn't want to even image it. (They were a brilliant, dedicated group of men, but far from infallible. Our Constitution is a powerful, thoughtful document and a bright guiding light of principles, but it's not unquestionable perfection.)
Whenever you have a right, or a freedom, there are those that will use for ill. Every right will result in some abuse and so gun rights beget gun violence.
In a world where there are guns, I want the right to ownership. And I realize that I may pay for that right in the worst kind of way. The likelyhood of needing a gun for self defense depends to some degree on individual circumstances. As well as the chances of becoming a victim of gun violence.
I accept that guns will always be involved in violence, random and otherwise. I accept that angry, violent people will always exist, that violence is part of the human condition, and guns will sometimes be involved. I do not accept the amount of killing power that an assualt-style weapons avail the average angry American. An angr, ill person with a baseball bat, or even a handgun, is much less lethal than that same person with semi-automatic rifle.
In 1994 we had an assault weapons ban. It was intended to reduce the lethality of mass shootings when they do happen. It worked. Gun massacres fell during the ban. In 2004 the ban was allowed to expire and the genie flew out of bottle. I think we need to cram it back in. It may take generations, but I think it can be done.
In a modern, first world society, we can do so much better. I think about the reasons why we are so angry and violent and what can be done about it.
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