Torn On Gun Control

I have been a little too wrapped up with my own neuroses over the past few weeks to articulate my thoughts on current events, and there is a LOT going on in the world (and beyond) these days.

The Virginia Tech massacre has been covered from top to bottom by every news outlet and blogger worth their salt, and while I hate to beat a dead horse, I have some thoughts on the matter that I am trying to work through. First and foremost of these are my thoughts and beliefs concerning gun control.

As with most issues in America, the debate over gun control is completely polarized. You have your groups that would like to ban the sale of firearms completely and then you have your NRA zealots who always take the argument to the other extreme. The "gun culture" in this country is fairly insane. I completely and wholeheartedly understand what the founding fathers had in mind with their "right to bear arms" idea. In times of war, unarmed civilians were being preyed upon by armed soldiers. The only way to protect themselves back then was to arm themselves. Another motivation back then was that our new nation was easier to invade than it is today. Allowing the population to arm itself served as both a deterrent to invaders as well as making it far easier to drum up militias in the event America would be invaded.

Flash forward 215 years or so to the America of the new millennium. We live in a vastly different country than the America of 1791. I have heard a number of pundits, lobbyists and media personalities over the past week use the Virginia Tech murders as a platform to call for gun control, gun bans and the like. One common thread to the arguments is that times have changed since the days of America's infancy and that our attitudes (and laws) concerning guns should change with it. My personal belief is that there is truth in these arguments, but in reality things have not changed as much as many of us would like to believe.

One of my biggest fears, one that has spawned recurring nightmares, is that armed thugs could break into my house and I would be powerless to stop them from harming my family. In my nightmares I am forced to watch while horrible things happen to my loved ones.

One of my favorite movies/documentaries is Michael Moore's "Bowling For Columbine". It is truly a work of genius. Mr. Moore postulates that the murder rate in our great nation is so high because there are so many people with guns. He lays out all of the knee-jerk theories about violent video games, angry music, action movies and such. He then compares the murder rate in America to those of other countries that have similar love affairs with violent media content. The results were mind-blowing and most of these theories that blamed The Matrix, Marilyn Manson and Halo were put to rest. If you haven't seen the documentary yet, be sure to check it out and let me know what you think. Check out this link to the documentary's cartoon "A Brief History of the United States of America". It is CLASSIC. Wow, nothing like being 5 years behind the times... Be sure to look for my blog entry in 2012 where I share my thoughts on changing the voting system for American Idol so we don't have another Sanjaya on our hands....

I agree with Michael Moore that the biggest problem with gun violence in America is the prevalence of guns. It seems simple enough. However, while America is a pretty scary place nowadays I am not ready to throw my votes behind any gun control measures quite yet. Why? While I may be scared to death to walk the streets of certain areas of Philadelphia (including my old neighborhood, the late, great Overbrook) I am even more afraid what would happen if only the criminals and police had guns. While I do not own a gun (because I don't trust myself with one), my philosophy on firearms is that it is better to have one and not need it than to need one and not have it. Guns make it alarmingly easier to kill someone, or to kill oneself. The availability of guns in this country is the leading cause a murder rate that is a true American embarrassment to the rest of the world. There is an adage I have heard hundreds if not thousands of times that I truly hate. The old "guns don't kill people, people kill people" one. It is the biggest crock of crap in the whole arsenal of NRA apologist arguments. Looking back on the Virginia Tech tragedy, how many people would that guy (I refuse to use his name) have been able to kill if he were wielding a sword or a knife? The death toll would have been significantly lower and the victims would have had more of a fighting chance to fight him off.

Going back to my point about things not being as different today as they were in 1791, I have very little faith in the current administration - and less faith today than I ever have that my civil liberties are safe and secure. I honestly believe that the "right to bear arms" is a huge deterrent to our own government putting a huge collar around the population if they ever chose to do so. I have said before that other countries are doing democracy and infrastructure better than we are, and I still believe that. However, I truly feel for the populations of these countries if their governments ever decided to crack down. Our murder rate is a tragic disgrace. It is tough for people to feel safe with the millions of guns spread all over the country.

I will not say that gun control in America is an impossibility, but only insomuch that almost anything is possible. I honestly do not see a realistic way to disarm Americans nor do I see anything on the horizon that suggests that there is a way to ween Americans from their weapons of choice. One can hope that we will evolve as a people and as a species but as long as there are armed criminals (who will undoubtedly always be armed) and police, I am glad I have the option of owning a gun if I so chose. This sentiment was echoed this week by a very wise man named Denny Hatch in his online column Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense.

I always thought I was pro-gun control. A huge part of me wishes I still was. Again, I loathe guns. I hate how easy it makes it to kill someone. I hate seeing things like the Amish school shooting and the Virginia Tech massacre. I pray that there is some way that we will grow to a point that these things are not regular occurences, and that we can figure out a way to make the inner cities safe. But until then, I cannot throw myself behind calls for gun bans. I just can't.

[Currently Listening: Less Than Jake - "A Still Life Franchise"]