Invitation to Gun Control Opponents: Let's Think That Through

Newsday’s coverage of a gun rights rally in Huntington earlier this year (“Gun Rights Advocates Rally in Huntington”, 01/19/13) provided  a vivid presentation of the very real fears (and “solutions”) that participants – and millions of others  - live with.

Our hectic lives leave us neither the time nor the information to examine our views and sensibly think them through.  However, the  coverage of that rally gives us a chance to run some common gun-control fears through the Reality Meter.

On any issue, Step One must be to get the facts straight. One rally participant, according to the article, feared  that  new laws “might bar him from enjoying hobbies such as hunting with his children.” Good news for him:  traditional hunting guns like rifles and shotguns  are never  part of any proposed  generic gun ban, any more than traditional self-defense  guns like revolvers and pistols. Now that man can go home to his kids and tell them the good news. 

For school safety, some rally participants urged fighting fire with fire, such as  having a trained, armed security guard (e.g.an  ex-cop)  in each school. One woman,  bypassing the expense of a  guard,  said, “If that principal (in Newtown) was carrying a gun, it would have stopped (the shooter) in his tracks.” 

Let’s think these through.  Ever take a tour of a school building?  Most  have multiple long hallways, multiple entrances/exits, and an enormous number of windows.  The guard can be in only one location at a time – usually by the front door;  ditto the principal, who is mostly in an office or in meetings. Our  shooter will naturally operate somewhere out of view of our armed guard or principal.

And if someone catches up with the shooter?   The latter certainly won’t be afraid of anyone, being on a fanatic mission…and likely willing to die anyway, as many such shooters do – some by suicide, as in Columbine and Newtown.  More reality: since he is seeking victims - in hallway, cafeteria, or  classroom  - he’ll be near numbers of kids - not a great scene to shoot into. For that matter, if he sees an armed person coming for him, his natural reaction may  well be to grab one or more kids as hostage(s).  Is that really a better situation? 

All in all, the shooter  may well be able to kill numbers of kids quickly before any armed person catches up with him. This is thanks to the high-capacity guns that  Republicans refuse to ban and some Democrats are afraid to ban.  There’s got to be a better way. 

Several rally participants were certain that nothing could prevent another Newtown.  One man insisted,  “You can’t stop crazy…crazy will win in the long run, and the best you can do is defend.”  Again, let’s think this through. “Can’t stop crazy…” from what?  Doing any harm?  Likely we can’t. John Hinckley was able to shoot Pres. Reagan despite  six alert Secret Service members  there. Anyone willing to give himself up, as Hinckley was, can likely do some damage.

However, multiple killing should be much easier to prevent.  Cracking down on assault weapons, high-capacity clips, and/or bullet sales  wouldn’t  stop all “crazies”, but it would indeed prevent more slaughters like Newtown.

Possibly the most constant fear theme among opponents of gun control is, as expressed by one rally participant, “I feel that our Second Amendment rights    are being taken away from us slowly.” 

For reassurance, those people  need  to look to our other rights for comparison. Every other major right we have has definite limitations. Freedom of speech,  for example, stops short of slander or incitement to violence;  free press – libel not allowed. Free assembly, religion, etc,….each one has definite prohibitions against excesses. 

Only bearing arms is a nearly unlimited right, asking only that guns be registered, users licensed, and criminals and the mentally disturbed  excluded.  Therefore, gun rights are not “being taken away” – they’re having a fence put around their outer, dangerous limits, limits that would have saved thousands of lives all along. 

Finally, many control opponents  take the long view. They fear that, as quoted, gun controls “..could diminish other Constitutional protections.” One rally participant said, “I’m  concerned about children’s and grandchildren’s liberties in the future.”  Well, that’s highly  encouraging; we certainly need more people concerned about holding onto our rights….all of them. 

And that’s the tragic irony. With so much flamethrowing about the Second Amendment,  it’s actually standing much stronger and healthier than several  other items in the Bill of Rights. Hardly anyone- not even the Second Amendment crowd  – seems to notice that an entire pack of our core rights are disappearing. Some– like free speech and free assembly –  have had significant pieces chopped off, while others  – like unreasonable search/seizure and  due process – are being steadily shredded.  

If you haven’t “gotten the memo” about all that, turn off the tv and start reading the better-quality political magazines and websites. We all need to think more clearly about gun rights and usage,  and to zero in on not only bearing arms, but bearing citizen responsibility for rescuing and protecting all our rights.

posted by Nat Board