2A

Okay, I’m clearly not finished ranting about this.  In trying to explore the reasons gun owners feel a need to own guns, I was kind of surprised at how many of them referred to the right to defend themselves against an overreaching government, or in more archaic language, tyranny.  But I don’t see where the second amendment gives them that right.  On the contrary, it seems to me that the language is in reference to the “free State’s” need to occasionally call up a militia in order to defend itself, presumably from outside forces.  But I’m not a legal or constitutional scholar so I can’t really argue that issue.

What I’m really struck by is the idea that these guys with their guns are going to defend themselves against the American government – even with semi-automatic rifles.  Our government has nuclear weapons and other big bombs!  They have bomber planes and missiles to deliver those bombs!  They have rocket propelled artillery and cannons!  They have tanks and armored Humvees!   

But let’s just say that they were willing to stand up to the government in a situation where the resisters believed the government was “overreaching”.  What would that look like?  The armed occupiers at Malheur?  If those guys had actually shot at anyone trying to dislodge them from the facility they would likely have been captured, arrested, and charged with breaking the law.  Would individuals assume the right to resist?  Would a civilian use a gun to stop cops from abusing someone?  Would a civilian resist the National Guard for using excessive force in trying to control a protest?  Would a parent threaten to shoot a CPS worker who came to their house to take their child?  All of these examples are ludicrous, so how does the individual right to ‘bear arms’ actually translate into using a gun?  I think that’s where it gets vague and risky.   

While I’m sure plenty of these guys who advocate for gun ownership and display pictures of themselves and their guns would love the opportunity to wield their guns somewhere besides on the firing range, that’s pretty unlikely to happen.  What they really get out of having guns is feeling a sense of empowerment.  Guns are just big toys that make them feel tough and strong – better than a big pickup truck!  And the bigger the gun the tougher they feel.  It is time for our country to stop feeding this image of the tough white guy.  The #MeToo movement ought to be a wakeup call reminding us that men in this country already have an outsized entitlement problem.  Allowing them to carry guns that are only meant to hurt other people simply puts those who choose not to own guns at risk.  All of these gun advocates will tell you that they are the ‘good guys’ and they’re here to protect us from the ‘bad guys’.  But when I see how angry they get when they think their ‘rights’ are being threatened, I do not trust them not to turn into the bad guys.  And it perpetuates the belief that there are lots of evil people out there who need to be deterred with guns.  It encourages the idea that shooting someone is a legitimate way of solving problems.   

As Abraham Kaplan reminds us, “The First Law of the Instrument states that if you give a boy a hammer, he suddenly finds that everything needs pounding.”  And if you’re a guy carrying a gun and itching to use it, you’re much more likely to skip over any other possibilities for resolving conflicts.  Even cops supposedly trained in other tactics too often jump directly to using a gun in a tense situation.  Look what happened to Charleena Lyles, a tiny, pregnant woman shot to death by Seattle police.  You can’t tell me that some civilian hot-shot with a gun is going to react any better.   

And you’ll notice I’m mostly talking about white guys here.  You’ll never convince me that if a handful of black men attempted to stage a protest while carrying their legally authorized guns they would get off as easily as Ammon Bundy and his crew.   

The United States constitution is an amazing document, and in many ways the authors had the foresight to consider that things might change in the future.  But for the American public to hold so tightly to this one sentence is ridiculous.  It is time for us as a people to declare that, other than law enforcement or military, there is no place in our country for individuals to own and carry guns whose only purpose is to kill many people quickly.  We need to stop placating the egos of white men and start thinking about the lives of everyone else who is at risk of suicide, assault, accident, or murder.  We can say ‘Yes’ to a short list of guns for hunting or personal self-defense, but we need to say ‘No’ to everything else.  No, No, No.  Give up the idea that you should try to rationalize or compromise.  Our integrity as human beings is at stake.  Just say NO.  Go ahead, practice saying that: NO, NO, NO…