This past week our nation witnessed one of the most horrific violations in history. A beast that I refuse to name, planned and then killed 12 people in a theatre in Colorado. I won’t go into details of how, why, or who committed this atrocity.
What I WILL address is the idea of our Constitutional “right to bear arms”. The misconstrued perception of this “right”, saddens and confuses me. The archaic belief that having a gun in our houses will enable us to “defend ourselves” is not only statistically improbable, it is metaphorically AND literally unsettling to those who live with us. A loaded gun in a house says,”I don’t trust people”, “I am afraid someone will break in and hurt us”, and also “I am willing to shoot to kill another human being”.
If you have a gun in your house and it is NOT loaded, the statistical probability of you being able to get to it, load it, and confront a home invader AND for the outcome of that confrontation to be positive in ANY way, is insignificantly small.
This is not to say I don’t think we should be prepared. It is not to say that I don’t think we should defend ourselves and those we love but having a dog and a home alarm system are profoundly more effective. The idea is to not have your home be very appealing to those who would invade it.
What all this brings me to is a conclusion I came to in my teens. There is NO REASON for assault rifles to be in the hands of the public. There is NO REASON for hand guns to be in the possession of the public. Hand guns and assault rifles were invented for ONE single purpose and that is to kill other human beings. SO – what do I say to those who claim they have a “right to collect” weapons?
I say,”Get a life and collect ceramic frogs, lawn gnomes, or goldfish”. Collect something that adds life to the world, not something that is designed to destroy life. What possible joy can a human being derive out of owning a collection of assault rifles??
What fearful illusional self perception of manhood needs to revel in the ownership of something designed to take away the life of another being?
When I see a photo of a guy standing around with his buddies and brandishing their prize AK-47’s, I wonder if it makes them feel powerful, macho, and strong? It also makes me wonder where this need for that sense of power came from. Is there a correlation between this behavior and the violent idiotic murderous video games? There are even TV shows dedicated to showing off “powerful weapons”. I get nauseous when I pass by these shows on my way to the Discovery Channel.
I come from a long line of poor people in the South and I remember well my Father and my Uncles going out hunting and bringing home rabbit, deer, squirrels, and quail to feed our family. I’ve personally hunted and helped clean our kill to add to our dinner table. I understand the need to eat and I understand the idea of hunting to sustain loved ones. But I’ve never seen an AK-47 used in deer hunting and a hand gun is impractical for hunting anything other than humans.
So, I am not without understanding when it comes to the “right to bear arms” but the bastardization of this “right” has becomes the mantra of lobbyists with special interests in Washington and it sickens and disheartens me.
12 people are dead and 58 wounded, because of this “right”. This monster had the “right” to buy machines made for the purpose of killing human beings. He bought everything LEGALLY on line.
To those who will say to me,”Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”, I say,”Tell that to the families of those murdered in Colorado. These types of guns ARE what kill people, furthermore, they are singly designed for that purpose. Yes, people kill people and it is these types of guns they use to do it.
I say ban assault rifles and hand guns. It certainly won’t stop this kind of thing from happening but it WILL cut down on the number of lives lost and make the whole process more difficult.
Washington MUST do something…. but I’ve been to Washington, photographed Senators and Congressmen, so I know how it works up on the Hill and I recognize the fact money speaks louder than the voices of grieving family members.
Today I feel powerless. How many innocent people and how many good presidents must die to make these weapons illegal?
