[Captain’s Note: Not long ago I was lamenting that it seems
blogging has run its course. Many of my friends who blog have been posting
less, a few have quit altogether. And as I write this, I realize my last post
was on January 3rd, almost three weeks ago. The reason for that is
not because I’ve lost interest, but because I have been writing and re-writing today’s
blog for the last three weeks. Apologies.]
With the presidential election but a vague memory – although
only a mere two months ago – the nation continues to manifest its great divide,
this time through a debate about gun control.
The December shooting of 20 school children and six adults
at Sandy Hook Elementary School (not to mention the shooter’s mother and the suicide
of the shooter himself) has once again raised an emotional plea from the
country that someone needs to do something to stop the senseless killing.
The more immediate response to the Sandy Hook tragedy was
from anti-gun lobbies – among them the James Brady Center and former congresswoman
Gabrielle Giffords – you know, public figures who have actually been shot!
They
aren’t opposed to Bubba’s hunting rifle per se, but they want to remove the
more extreme weapons from public access.
Is there a reason a person needs an assault rifle? A high-capacity
magazine? Hollow-point bullets? I can’t think of a reason, unless they plan to
go on a public shooting rampage.
But then again, I own a broadsword, and I don’t plan on laying
siege to a castle anytime soon! I just think it’s cool!
The anti-gun people also want to tighten controls on who can
buy guns. Currently, the National Rifle Association, a very active pro-gun
lobbying organization in America, vocally opposes background checks on gun
purchasers and other means of identifying who owns such weapons.
As one woman recently lamented, “It’s easier for me to buy
bullets than birth control!”
Indeed, my own wife tried to buy Sudafed recently to fight
her cold and had to go through a lengthy process of registration and identification
at the pharmacy counter. Yet a gun enthusiast – or even a nut-job, as the case
may be – is free to buy a high-powered assault weapon at a gun show without
even giving his name!
On the other side of the debate is the NRA, which remained
quiet for a week after the shooting, then publicly declared that the answer to
the problem is more guns: arm the teachers and administrators of our schools.
In the words of Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the NRA, “The only thing
that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
Point
of interest here: While the NRA claims a membership of 4 million Americans,
some 65 million Americans own guns; thus, the NRA only represents a small
fraction of all gun owners. And while claiming to represent the gun owners of
America, its Board of Directors is stacked with owners of gun manufacturers and
suppliers – Steve Hornady of Hornady Ammunition (maker of an armor-piercing
bullet); Ronnie Barrett of Barrett Firearms (designer of the .50 caliber sniper
rifle); Pete Brownell of Brownells Inc. (world’s largest supplier of firearm
parts and accessories) – just to name a few.
And
as my carpenter/father taught me, “If
your only tool is a hammer, all of your problems will be nails.”
I
recall from my own high school days – a kinder, gentler time – when a new
student arrived from Louisville, telling tales of National Guardsmen regularly patrolling
the hallways of his former high school with loaded M-16s on their shoulders. I
can’t think of a less-conducive environment for learning.
Following the shootings at Heath High (1997) and Columbine
High (1999), public schools have been locked down as tight as prisons; exterior
doors are locked with only one entrance by which to gain access; students wear
ID tags and must walk through metal detectors each morning; bags are inspected
at the door; no one is allowed to leave campus; and “All visitors must first
sign in at the office.” In most cases however, the staff is not (officially) armed.
But what are all of these safety precautions actually doing
to our children? Douglas Anthony Cooper, writing for “Huffington Post”, opposes
the NRA’s idea:
“To
preserve freedom in America, we’ll place children in a learning environment that
would have been considered oppressive under Stalin. We’ll lock them in
buildings that are – I guarantee it – more heavily guarded than any
kindergarten in North Korea.”
“And why?” Cooper
asks.
“So
that the grownups can be free to stockpile weapons against tyranny. I mean,
good lord, you don’t want tyrants. So let’s have our children spend their best,
most carefree years under the watchful eyes of crack mercenaries…”
I don’t buy into the currently popular paranoia of the
emergence of a tyrannical government. For one, even a fully armed populace
would not stand before the awesome might of the U.S. military. You might own an
AR-47, but the U.S. military uses tanks… and un-piloted aircraft… not to mention
the piloted aircraft! My nephew, who is in the Army currently deployed to
Afghanistan, operates a cannon that can throw a projectile more than 2 miles!
So don’t let anyone fool you into thinking your
guns are going to protect you from the government.
Besides, I believe Democracy still works in America. We, the
people, are blessed to get to vote on who we want to lead us. And if our
candidate doesn’t win this time, we get another chance to vote in a few years. Furthermore,
there are numerous checks and balances in our government that would make such a
takeover next to impossible.
And frankly, I feel less of a threat from the government now
than I did when President Reagan was shot and Secretary of State Alexander Haig,
a former Army general, proclaimed to the world, “As of now, I am in control
here.”
But I do accept the maxim that goes, “If guns are outlawed,
only outlaws will have them.” In fact, during the Roarin’ 20s, Al Capone’s gang
always carried more (illegal) firepower than the local police. One of the circumstances
that makes schools easy targets is that they are (officially) gun-free zones.
No one will shoot back until the police arrive, which gives the shooter plenty
of time to wreak havoc.
And then there are the “Crazies”. Some of these are readily
identified by their tin foil caps which protect them from the government reading
their thoughts. Others have dug bunkers and are stock-piling weapons and ammo
for… well… whatever. Those types are easy to sort out (although perhaps not so
easy to disarm).
Unfortunately, some of the “Crazies” are normal looking
people holding normal jobs who just suddenly snap one day, take up a gun, and
go on a rampage. The phrase “going postal” was coined after a number of
incidents where harried postal workers snapped and shot up their places of
employment.
All of that is to simply say, there is no easy solution to
this problem.
Having considered both sides of the argument for quite some
time now (remember, the Heath High shooting was 15 years ago), I have come to
the conclusion that the problem of gun violence is not about the number and
availability of guns. It is not a legislative issue. The problem lies far
deeper than the bunker where some tin foil-capped conspiracy-theorist is
stock-piling weapons.
The problem of gun violence lies in the depths of the human heart.
At some point – I suspect during my lifetime…
...we have lost all respect for the value of human
life, and respect for one another.
...we have lost the ability to think and to examine
the consequences of our actions – either before or after we act.
...we have become angry, an anger fostered by
religious and political dogmatism.
...we have become selfish – taking to heart the
trite bumper sticker motto of previous years, “The one who dies with the most
toys wins!"
...we want power without accountability.
...we want our “rights” without responsibility.
That is not the America I grew up in. That is not the
America I want to live in. And the truth is, that America is not sustainable.
Instead of reading the anti-communist fear-mongering of Ayn
Rand, we should be re-reading William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, about how a
will to power causes a group of civilized boys to regress to savagery.
Until we have a change of heart toward one another – until we
can turn around the list above – the problem of gun violence in America will
continue.
Until then, here’s my suggestion for dealing with gun
violence in America:
When I was in college, when a member of a fraternity got into
trouble – either on campus or out in public – the school administration
referred the matter to the fraternity leadership. Sometimes, if the infraction
was serious enough, the entire fraternity was disciplined for the actions of
the one. It didn’t matter if the violation was a sanctioned fraternity activity
or just one idiot misbehaving – he was a member of the fraternity, and
therefore he was their responsibility.
So the next time someone goes on a killing rampage, let’s
refer the matter to the NRA and other organizations who think gun ownership is
a divine right. Make them responsible for the irresponsible actions of the
shooter. Make them responsible for burying the bodies, and for comforting the
grieving families. Make them financially responsible for the damages done. Make
them responsible for counseling the shocked survivors, and make them explain yet
again why the Second Amendment is so vitally important to our society.
Since the Sandy Hook shooting in December, there have been
five other school shootings.
