mass shootings gun control
2017-10-2
The US - my country - needs to address its gun death situation. In 2017, there have been roughly one "mass shooting" every day of the year.
Might be, that is a problem.
I grew up hunting. Guns are a part of how I grew up. I have guns; I know how to handle them, clean them, and use them responsibly. I expect to pass this down to my children. What guns were not to me is a religion. They didn't keep me safe versus the Army or the police. People who talked like they did were the fringe and were a little unrealistic, I always thought. Guns are like a sharp knife: a tool, not a talisman.
Later in life I saw people open carrying in sleepy rural suburbs. Not "long rifle in truck" during hunting season, but carrying a pistol and walking their dog. Others would take pistols to potluck dinners. What?!?, I thought, there's no measurable threat of violence. I have no problem if there's a reasonable threat of violence and someone wants to have a weapon in self defense. I talked to a friend who was big into guns. They explained - it's a talisman, a thing to display your allegiance to guns and the second amendment.
This mentality of talismanic gun ownership isn't reasonable. It's a tool. If you want to commit rebellion against the government, guns can be used usefully. It's not healthy to have massive amounts of gun ownership preparing against the day of Communist takeover. If that's you - think about this- wouldn't the totalitarian figure out how to get you on his side first? The best totalitarian thought is the one where the majority of the society agrees with it!
Seems to me like the US needs to tackle two things:
- Removing the talisman from the culture.
- Hollywood should stop glorifying gun violence as being useful and effective.
- Regulating gun ownership via:
- Instituting mental health checks on gun owners past and present
- Requiring licenses for ownership past 5 guns
- Banning open carry within city limits
- Requiring concealed carry permits for pistols
- Requiring membership in the national guard (or a state equivalent) for owning weapons of war (actual weapons of war, not ones people ignorant of guns fear).
All of those, to the best of my knowledge, cohere with the Second Amendment and the general understanding of the Constitution, while preserving the ability for the community as represented by local police and licensing authorities to monitor them. Tags: #gun control #guns #society #politics #constitution
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