I would like to start out by saying this isn’t by any means going to be
just another paper written on gun control, one that depicts the Republican’s on
the right side and the Democrat’s on the left side or how they are more often
described as conservatives and liberals, pointing their boney fingers at one
another expelling a lot of hot air about how the other is wrong and they are
right. At a time in our country where shootings of innocent children at the
Shady Brook Elementary School in New Haven, CT, a group of high school students
at Columbine High School in Columbine, CO, or even college students on the
campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, are becoming what seems to be a
daily occurrence, we need solid solutions not the same old story wrapped in
different paper. With each event, each side almost immediately starts blaming
the other side for the world we all live in today, neither giving time for the
dust to settle let alone for those that lost love ones to grieve. So let’s take
a look at what each believe. (Poole)
Let’s take a moment to
look at what’s on the Democrat and Republican agendas, their wish list for lack
of better terms. In order to do this I have spent many hours reading multiple
articles and have found a starting point provided by SirRobin at
MMO-Champion.com in their discussion board. Below is that list.
Democrat agenda representing people who are in favor of gun control.
- Most violent crimes are committed with guns; thus, restricting gun ownership will likely reduce the number of such crimes.
- Lunatics, bullied school kids, disgruntled workers, and others can inflict mass casualties with guns that otherwise wouldn't be possible.
- A crime victim who has a gun may be in more danger than an unarmed person since the criminal may kill in perceived self-defense.
- Suicides and crimes of passion are higher with gun availability, as it's much easier to act immediately on your impulses when a gun is available.
- The 2nd Amendment of the Constitution was targeted towards militia, e.g. the National Guard, rather than individuals.
- Crimes that may have been less harmful can be made more dangerous by adding a gun.
- Legalized gun ownership means guns have a greater chance of falling into the hands of kids, potentially resulting in some deadly accidents.
- Terrorism, school shootings, and other modern circumstances make guns more dangerous nowadays.
Republican agenda
representing people who are not in favor of gun control.
- Criminals will always find a way to obtain their guns, leaving law-abiding citizens without any weapons to use in defense.
- Crimes are often prevented by the deterrent effect of the possibility of victim gun possession.
- The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution protects the individual's right to gun ownership.
- Woman and weaker individuals may have no means of self-defense from rape or other crimes, especially in the inner city.
- Guns in the possession of citizens are an added protection against government tyranny.
- Police are often too overwhelmed to protect all citizens from violent crime.
- Banning guns will create another potentially large source of organized criminal revenue, as a black market for guns will surely develop.
- Banning guns will take away yet another piece of our liberty, which is one more step to socialism and totalitarianism.
- Reasonable gun control & education steps can be put in place, so an outright ban is unnecessary.
As you can easily see, like in other areas of our
country we are truly a house divided, so it is very easy to get caught up in
the same old way of thinking. But, if this isn’t enough let’s look at some more
facts. “In 1982 a survey of male felons
in 11 state prisons dispersed across the U.S. found that 34% had been scared
off, shot at, wounded, or captured by an armed victim; 40% had decided not to
commit a crime because they knew or believed the victim had a gun; and 69%
personally knew other criminals who had been scared off, shot at, wounded, or
captured by the armed victim” (Agresti). So in this instance it appears that armed
home owners are the way to go.
Let’s look at what happened in Washington, D.C. between
September 24, 1976 and June 26, 2008 while they had a law in place that
generally prohibited residents from owning firearms and required firearms in
private homes to be kept unloaded, un-assembled or have a trigger guard
installed. During this time the murder average rate in Washington, D.C. was 73%
higher than when the law took effect, while the U.S. murder rate averaged 11%
(Agresti).
In 1982, Chicago instituted a ban on handguns with the only
exception being those handguns that were previously registered. They were
required to re-register the handgun every year. The law stayed in effect until
June 2010 when the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. Since the ban was
lifted the murder rate average has decreased to 17% (Agresti). This would lead
me to believe regardless of the laws in place, if someone wants to commit a
crime they are going to regardless of easy availability or access to a firearm.
We could continue showing
facts and data about gun control and some would support that gun control was
the correct way to proceed and others would provide proof as previously
referenced that gun control is not the solution. No matter how many statics we
dig up, create or make up, we will never replace the life that was lost from
these violent crimes and that should at all cost be our focus and the center of
the debate. After all I, like you, I am sure you have never seen or heard of a
gun, in and of itself, that killed
someone, it was the person in possession of the gun, with little to no regard
to human value or worth, that killed the person.
Before I go any further
I have to tell you who I am, in hopes that you too will come to this
understanding, the belief that human life is much too precious to be at odds on
the matter of gun control. Who am I? I am a Patriot through and through to this
United States of America. I served my country for twenty years in the US Navy
and was onboard the USS Cole on that horrible day in October 2000 when 17 of my
comrades paid the ultimate price for our freedoms. I am a father to 5 children
and the husband to one woman, their mother for the last 25 years. I am a Southerner
who strongly believes in his right to bear arms and a Christian who strongly
believes in the value of human life. So where does this leave a man like me?
Well for starters, I am
not much for shifting the blame around like a game of hot potato, the time has
come we all take some ownership in this United States of America the greatest
country in the world and trust me on this it is as I have seen some very ugly
places. It isn’t going to come without a cost as nothing in life is ever free.
My biggest concern is that once one side gives a little the other will take a
lot and balance will never be achieved only extremes. For example, we have seen
the right of prayer being removed from our public schools turned into what I
would consider one of our biggest travesties.
Because of that ruling we are no longer able to use the term “Christmas
Holidays”; it has to be a “winter celebration” in fear that we might offend
someone. The sad part is the majority of those families in that school
celebrate Christmas. So with gun control, I just don’t want to see the extreme
happen, which is a total ban on firearms when our past has proven we have
needed these weapons in order to preserve the beliefs and freedoms that we all
hold very dear to us.
I think a little common
sense on this would go a long way and hope that you agree. First, I remember
taking my first hunter’s safety course in middle school, where we had a gun on
display in our school to educate us on how to not only handle and take care of
it, but we were also instructed on its purpose. Second, we need to be educating
our students today on the value of life and how precious it is. You go into any
school today, middle and high school alike, and you will find blatant
disrespect of one another and themselves as they do not value the life that God
our Father has blessed them with. This is apparent from the sheer number of
school shootings by students and the teenage suicide rate which according to
the American Foundation of Suicide has rising to 12.4%. Third, like all men, I
like my toys just as much as the next guy, but let’s be real, just because I
have the funds to by an assault rifle doesn’t mean I really need it. After all,
for what purpose other than saying I have it does it have. It isn’t like I am
going to hunt with it and I sure as hell am not going shoot an intruder in my
house with it so again what is the point. I would rather compromise my right to
purchase an assault rifle, in order to keep my overall right of gun ownership.
In closing it is my prayer that you too will come to the
realization that teaching our children to value human life, is the greatest point
and that it is time we take ownership of the mess that we and our parents have
made over the last 40 years, or it won’t be long until we have returned to the
“Wild Wild West” and the days of stepping out on the street to settle our
differences.
References
American Foundation of
Suicide Prevention (2011). Retrieved from http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?page_id=04ea1254-bd31-1fa3-c549d77e6ca6aa37
Agresti, James D. and Smith, Reid
K. (2012, December 28). Gun Control. Retrieved
from Just Facts: http://justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
Blanton,
Dana (2013, January 18). Fox News poll: Twice as many favor
more guns over banning guns to reduce crime. Retrieved from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/18/fox-news-poll-twice-as-many-favor-more-guns-over-banning-guns-to-reduce-violent/
Poole, Dan (2013, January 17).
Ten facts Americans must know about the
gun control debate. Retrieved from the Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/article/ten-facts-americans-must-know-about-the-gun-control-debate?cid=rss
SirRobin, The Lightbringer
(2012, November 10). Should
civilian possession of handguns and other non-hunting guns be banned or
severely restricted? Retrieved from MMO-Champion:
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1223265-Gun-Control-Pros-and-Cons
White,
Deborah (n.d.). Pros
& Cons of Gun Ownership & Use Laws for Individuals.
Retrieved from About.com: http://usliberals.about.com/od/patriotactcivilrights/i/ProConGunLaws_2.htm
