I have begun this post at least three times on paper, and many more in my head. What I’m really trying to sort out for myself is what the actual difference is between those who so adamantly oppose even any talk about gun control and those of us who believe that we need a whole lot fewer guns available in our communities. It seems to me that if we can’t zero in on addressing some of their concerns, we won’t make any progress on this issue. Recently, because I saw some comments on a friend’s post (not by her) that said they had guns to keep their families safe, I thought, “Maybe that’s it. They’re just afraid.” And, indeed, Pew research shows that the percentage of gun owners who named protection as the main reason has steadily risen from 26% in 1999 to 67% in 2017. There is a lot more research on the demographics of gun ownership that you can find for yourself. The Pew Research Center is a good place to start. But, back to this idea of fear as a motivator for gun ownership. The Pew Research Center also has statistics on violent crime which shows that it has declined significantly in the past 25 years. I don’t want to get into arguing the rationality of their fear based on statistics but there just isn’t any evidence that people are in more danger than they were in 1999.
But they said they feel the need to have a gun to protect their family and I wanted to know why. After all, I’ve never felt the need to have a gun, or any other weapon really, to protect myself. And I thought if we could understand their fears, maybe we can find some other ways to help them feel safe. So, on that same Facebook post, I tried asking that question – plain and simple. What makes you feel so threatened that having a gun in the house is necessary? The first response I got referenced Nazi Germany, government overreach, and the right to bear arms. Um, okay. So, I tried again to get them to answer specifically how they would use their guns to protect themselves from ‘government overreach’. This was only the beginning of the response I received, “First of all what part of "shall not be infringed" is unclear to you? What makes your "feelings" more important then (sic) my constitutional rights?” I think you can see where this is going. Nowhere in my comments did I actually say anything about gun control or how I felt about anything other than making this statement, “we certainly seem to have a culture that values guns over human lives.” Anyway, it got much more irrational from there. He even added this quote (probably wrongly) attributed to Thomas Jefferson, “What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms.” I checked this person’s Facebook page and, at the same time he was ranting about government overreach he was carrying on about respecting the flag and ranting that kneeling during the national anthem was disrespectful to the flag. So, do you support our country (and its national symbols) or not? And if you don’t, you can take up arms in resistance but others can’t kneel. Got it.
And, while I hate to generalize, I see these same sentiments every time I try to explore what it is about gun advocates – because that’s what they are, advocates, not just owners. There are those who feel the need to have a small hand gun for protection (which I still don’t understand) and those who have a few hunting rifles, but I wouldn’t call them “advocates”. I met a guy one time who had the 2nd amendment tattooed on his arm! And there is a town in Georgia that has a law requiring every household to have a gun. That’s advocacy! The truth is, people in the gun advocacy camp see the world much differently than those of us who don’t see much need for personal gun ownership. They seem to see a world full of evil and much of that evil is projected out onto other people, particularly blacks, Latinos, immigrants, gays, non-Christians – basically anyone who isn’t straight, white, and male. They seem to believe that those other people are out to harm them by stealing their stuff, assaulting them, using their taxes to pay for ‘welfare pregnancies’ or abortions, forcing their daughters to use the same bathroom as transgender women, protesting against police violence, getting married, not getting married (and having sex anyway), praying to a different god or praying to the same god in a different way, and a host of other bad behaviors. And their way of defending themselves against all of this bad behavior is to have one or more big guns with lots of fire power. At the same time, they insist they have, and teach their children, a respect for guns and (innocent) life and that they would never harm anyone except in defense of themselves or their families – all the while posting pictures of their guns or pictures of themselves holding or wearing their guns, or both. It’s a “don’t mess with me, I’m a tough guy” attitude. It’s a CULTURE – a culture that thrives on being right, being in power, and having privilege.
So what conclusion have I come to about all of this? In general, gun advocates believe they’re right about everything, that their way of seeing the world is the only right way, and that they need to defend that way of seeing the world with big guns. Their stated fears are not logical, rational, or based on any statistical information. They refuse to place any value on all of the statistics that show that more guns mean more gun violence. They want their guns, all their guns, and they believe that the right to have guns is a major foundation of their freedom. Having a gun means you’re free – no matter how likely it is that you or anyone in your family will ever be physically threatened and no matter how many innocent people die for that freedom in mass shootings.
And under those circumstances, the two sides, mine and theirs, will never be able to have a useful dialogue about the issue. When one side believes their way is the only right way and they get angry at any questions from the other side, there is no room for trying to understand and find some places for compromise. Even a seemingly heartfelt appeal by a gun advocate misses the mark. “Pro-gun people believe that owning a gun is one step of many in helping to keep their families safe and their government from becoming too tyrannical. Anti-gun people believe that the mere existence of a gun is a danger to all. But note that both sets of people desire safety in general.” This writer admitted that he has no expertise, and his statement above bears that out. There are statistics that show that the ‘pro-gun’ beliefs are not based in reality and that the existence of guns results in more gun violence. He then goes on to propose a solution to prevent more school shootings that includes posting armed retired cops and military at all schools and arming teachers and all other school personnel – more guns to solve the problem of guns. I just can’t go there!
My goal in starting down this path on this subject was to explore ways to honestly engage with the opposition – being a ‘liberal’, that’s what we do! In this case, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just not possible. So, I believe it is time to invoke that Last Jedi quote, “That’s how we’re going to win. Not fighting what we hate but saving what we love.” I won’t quit working for more stringent gun control but I will definitely quit trying to engage with gun advocates.
If you’re interested in some good articles on the issue, try
these:
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