Guns and Fear

Another mass shooting in  the US and the gun control debate rolls on. I’ve been attacked on social media for being a liberal, an Islamic loving tree hugger, a socialist, anti-christian, stupid, and lastly - a Canadian with no right to have an opinion concerning an American 2nd amendment issue.

Not sure what classifies me as a liberal but I suspect it is my views on human rights and freedoms as that label seems to launched my way whenever I weigh in on those debates. According to the dictionary, it means I’m open to new behaviour or opinions and I am willing to discard traditional values. Cool, that’s definitely me. Islamic loving tree hugger is a label I embrace with open arms. I’m not for killing, period. I don’t care what your religion is, if you are killing and hating in the name of it, I have a problem with you and your god. Obviously depends on the muslim. Tree hugger - check. Socialist? Again, depending upon your definition, I think we all are. Half of us are for helping the less fortunate and the other half are for helping corporations and banks. Either way we all seem to support government assistance. Am I anti-christian? I repeat - if you are killing and hating in the name of your religion, I have a problem with you and your god. So I guess it depends upon the christian. I can’t argue with the stupid label as I’ve made enough mistakes in my life to earn that label. I am most definitely a Canadian and as such, I have the right to have an opinion on anything and everything whether or not I am a stupid, tree hugging socialist.

So with that disclaimer out of the way, here is the inevitable rant. The US 2nd amendment was written when the gun technology of the day was muskets. Yes, I understand it is a right guaranteed by your constitution, but it is probably time for you guys to revisit that whole thing. You guys are killing each other faster and more efficiently than any “terrorist” you are arming yourself against. After all it is an amendment to your constitution. It shouldn’t be that difficult to amend an amendment now should it?

I guess I should address the standard comeback that is inevitable when you start talking about amending something like a constitution. I’m talking about your 2nd amendment here, nothing else. I’m not talking about Freedom of Speech or Freedom of the press, etc.  Unless, as one of my friends so eloquently pointed out on social media, you can kill fifty by shouting really loud into a room full of people.

The idea of the right to bear arms was to ensure a tyrannical government did not run roughshod over the population. Now that the US government has tanks, aircraft carriers, supersonic jets, and nuclear weapons, that point is moot. Unless you’re for giving everyone access to that weaponry, your days of keeping your government in line with guns is long behind you.

The argument that guns don’t kill people, people kill people is convenient but stupid. I should know, right? People kill people with guns, people kill people with knives, people kill people with automobiles, people kill people with baseball bats, etc. No one is suggesting that gun control will stop people from killing people. I’m just suggesting the obvious - it won’t be so easy.

A real eye opener for me was when I read something posted by one of my American friends this week. He said he felt safer when he was on a night out with one of his friends who had a license to carry a handgun. Reading that, I realized just how lucky I was to be Canadian. I can’t imagine ever feeling safe when there is a gun in the room. Anyone who does should seriously take a long look at their lifestyle and the community in which they live.

I understand that a significant number of people have their decisions influenced by fear. Politicians like Stephen Harper and Donald Trump count on that fear and use it to their advantage. It is ironic how many people are willing to give up their freedom and values out of fear of losing their freedom and having someone else’s values imposed upon them. What kind of freedom do you really have if you don’t feel safe going out unarmed?

Yes, criminals will always have access to guns. Money can buy anything. However, with proper gun control, that access is severely limited. Will arming all the good guys keep the bad guys at bay? Some would argue for that logic but I can’t see a gun problem being solved by adding more guns to the equation.

Bottom line, there is a problem. People are killing each other faster and more efficiently with guns than any other weapon. Will gun control solve that problem? Maybe, maybe not. One thing that is irrefutable is that if no changes are made, the problem is going to persist.