Archive for March 21st, 2009
Gun Control
I’ve never been pro gun. I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about it or researching it. It’s just one of those issues where I’ve never been conflicted. I think it’s stupid to allow people to have guns. As you can imagine, this episode has done nothing to change my views. So, when I decided that Gun Control should be another topic addressed in this blog, I felt I should do some research…
I’ve spent a couple of hours looking at blogs and online articles etc. from the NRA and other pro-gun constituencies. I admit my research hasn’t been exhaustive, but I think I’ve seen enough. There’s no logical argument for carrying a hand gun.
The first question the police asked me, when I gave my statement, was if I was carrying a weapon that night. My answer was, “No. I never carry a weapon.” I found out later that they also asked my girlfriend if I had been carrying, and they searched my house to see if I had any weapons. If I had a weapon on me (a gun, or a knife… presumably even a baseball bat) that night, they could not have charged my attacker with Attempted Murder. If I had been carrying a gun, I would have used it. The kid missed me with his first shot. I could have shot and killed him. If that happened, I’d be the one cooling my heels in the county lock-up awaiting trial.
None of the other first world countries allow ownership of handguns. You never read about a high ranking politician in any of those countries accidentally shooting their friend in the face. It just doesn’t happen.
I believe that if we had gun laws in this country comparable to those in western Europe (or China, India, Japan, etc.), I would not have been shot three weeks ago. That sixteen year old kid would not have been able to get his hands on a gun.
The NRA likes to say, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” I disagree.
Guns enable people to quickly and easily kill people. Without the gun that kid would have had to get much closer to me to inflict bodily harm. It would have required more courage and more participation of his mind, body and soul. If you remove the gun from the equation, you can still have a murderous individual; but that person is going to need more time and energy to commit that murder. Shooting someone with a gun is like murdering by remote control. It’s like playing a video game.
It’s difficult to accidentally kill someone with your bare hands. Not so with a hand gun.
