Gun Culture

I don’t want to make a fuss about this issue. Enough has been said about it already! But a few things still need to be said. Here they are.

1. The US Constitution guarantees the right of citizens to have and to bear arms for their own personal defense. Also the right to maintain well-regulated militias.
2. No laws have been made to limit the number of guns or types for personal ownership and use to practical purposes. Guns of all types now number 300 million in a nation of 330 million residents.
3. Well regulated militias (national guard, sheriff posses, Texas Rangers and police forces, etc.) are provided throughout the nation in all regions
4. Changes over time force change in all things, even the US Constitution. It has been amended repeatedly. 

These items appear to be incontrovertible although I’m sure there are many who will argue each item endlessly. But here’s the thing:

America has a gun violence problem that needs a solution. With centuries of unmitigated growth in gun ownership, weapons are nearing the point when they will outnumber residents. The question is begged: when is too many guns enough?

And of more consequence, how to we solve the problems of gun violence. The problem is here. It is documented. What do we do about it?

We have heard the automatic responses such as: hammers kill; when will we outlaw hammers? Or cars? You know the drill. The point is hammers and cars and countless other items are constructed for specific purposes. If used incorrectly they can become instruments of violence and death. Laws governing their use are designed to avoid those problems.

Not so guns. Anyone can get a gun. Violent criminals, mental patients and more have little barrier to purchasing weapons. Whether legal or illegal, guns are procured by people who should not have them in their possession. That is the basic problem.

And it needs solutions. No one is saying ban all guns. So stop that noisy argument. We have innocents being killed. All too many mass killings have happened in our nation. How do we stop that from happening? What ideas, programs or laws could stem the slaughter?

I’m asking for positive ideas. Not political rhetoric.  Joe the Plumber in Ohio claims “your dead child’s rights do not trump my right to own a gun.” Legally that is true today. But I don’t think it should be. Gun rights do not trump a kid’s right to live.  How to make that happen while keeping both sides of the argument happy is the real challenge.

We will not find answers by fighting each other. Or by engaging in nasty and hateful speech. Only by calm, logical thinking and sharing of ideas among us all will a solution take shape. It will take hard work and lots of time to reach happy conclusions. Doing nothing is not and option. We must address the solution.

Here are some observations that may help:

1. Self defense doesn't always require gun ownership; our society provides a lot of protection so many do not need a gun at all
2. Hand guns and rifles are different. Both can be used for defense and collections. But rifles also serve in sport and hunting activities. Handguns are used for defense and killing people or threatening animals. Rules of ownership should be different for these two types of weapons.
3. The sheer number of guns is too high; how do we reduce the number of guns in society?
4. How do we eliminate gun ownership of people with mental illnesses?
5. How do we protect the most people while not eliminating the right to bear arms?

OK. Now let’s settle down and have a productive conversation. Let’s leave NRA and special interest groups bent on political power out of this process until they can prove they can act creatively and responsibly.

We have a problem. Let’s focus on solving it.

June 5, 2014