As my wife and children head off to a March for Our Lives event, here are my latest thoughts on all things 2nd Amendment and guns.
First off, I am a gun owner. We have a selection of guns for
hunting. They were designed for hunting first and foremost. While I would give
them all up to save a single life, I would prefer not to, and don’t think that
will solve our current crisis. I do not
own an “assault rifle”. I define an assault rifle as a firearm with a rifled bore, shot from the shoulder, that has been designed to kill people. Assault rifles
typically support multi-round magazines with over 10 shots. They are
semi-automatic and can be converted to automatic if you want to waste ammo.
Hunters, any worth their salt, should never need more than a few shots even if
they’re being charged by that killer grizzly in the Revenant.
So, I’m not against guns. They are tools to my mind, and
just like a chainsaw, they need to be respected. Unlike a chainsaw, they can move masses of
metal very quickly beyond my immediate area, and because of that, I think the
people utilizing them should be licensed and regulated similar to how we are
licensed to operate a car. (another mass of metal that moves very quickly)
For those who say the 2nd Amendment guarantees
their right to have an assault rifle, I say let’s vote on it. I don’t believe
the majority of Americans will agree with you. You have no “right” to operate a
vehicle, so how do you mentally justify the assault rifle argument? However,
that doesn’t mean, if you really, really love assault rifles, that you should
not be able to shoot one in controlled conditions. You can own and shoot
assault rifles in other countries (in Europe), but you agree to lock it up at the
gun club and not take it home with you after you’ve had your fun at the
shooting range. Guess what, even our own
military aren’t allowed to take their assault rifles “home”.
Oh, but you and your friends want to protect us from a potential
tyrannical government with armed insurrection? Do you ever wonder why people look at you like
you’ve just gone insane if you say that? Here’s some insight: You’ve spent your life paying taxes, and
those taxes fund the largest military in the world. You’ve basically paid for
your government to have the most advanced weapons on the planet, but you want
the “right” to fight that government with your AR15? Really? Let’s say you decide THE TIME IS NOW!..
and you and your buddies decide enough is enough and take matters in your own
hands. The “evil government” is going to dispatch you quickly and effortlessly
with weapons you paid for. They might even use a drone so nobody gets hurt on
the government side! The person who “takes you out”, has been effectively paid
BY YOU to do the job. The irony is almost too much to bear. Do you get it? If
not please go back and read again.
Here’s another angle on the above. Let’s say that you and
your patriotic buddies are all about armed insurrection against the government
should it “get out of hand”. Who are YOU
to decide when that trigger point has occurred? How will the rest of us know
when “you” decide it’s time to take matters into your own hands? What if we
disagree? What you are basically telling us, is that YOU and your friends are
ticking time bombs that could go off the moment that YOU decide you don’t like
how things are going. You are a terrorist in waiting. If things really do go
off the rails, then our only hope is that enough people feel the same, and that
a military coup rescues us, because otherwise, there you are, fighting tanks
and drones with your little AR15. Either
way, you and your little assault rifle never does anything to change the big
picture.
But wait, you don’t want to fight the government, you want to
protect your family! You need that assault rifle for personal protection! A pistol just won’t do. OK, well, we’re sorry, but just how many bad
folks do you expect to be breaking down your door? No really.
How many? Oops, are we back to fighting the government again? Better go
back and read the above over, it doesn’t end well for you.
No, no.. don’t you get it you dumb snowflake, if we get rid
of assault rifles, then only CRIMINALS will have assault rifles! How will we
protect ourselves!? Well, yes, I hear
you, but if only CRIMINALS have assault rifles, at least we KNOW that they are
criminals, and when we “get them” we’ll take their assault rifle away! ‘cause,
you know, they’re not legal! At the moment, the criminals are welcome to have
them. Once they’ve done their time or paid their fine, we’ll effectively hand their
gun back and say “now be a good boy!”.
Nice argument, but I’m not buying it.
So, in the end, you, dear assault rifle lover, don’t get to
have that assault rifle. Not at your house.
It’s a shame, but you have the NRA to blame. They’re the ones that
flooded the market and made it so easy for “the crazies” to get their hands on
them. They did it for money. That’s all they ever cared about.. but, they duped
you into thinking it was for “freedom”. You let them do this. Politicians let them do this.
(there’s that money thing again) There will always be crazies… they exist all
over the world. But, we’re the only country that has “the gun problem”. Everywhere else has to deal with the odd
bomb, car/truck ramming, knife attack, etc. It’s not a perfect world, and never
will be. However, you and your friends
will lose your rights to certain types of weapons because, just like hand
grenades and bazookas, you don’t need them, and it’s not safe for you to own
them. (A Bazooka would be so fun to play with though wouldn’t it?)
Gun owner’s rights don’t supersede the rights of others to
be safe. Your interpretation of the 2nd Amendment is flawed and self-serving.
You didn’t act and push for sensible protections when you could, and now it’s
too late. The line has been crossed. It’s only a matter of time. Sell it/them while
you can.
