I'm a gun owner, shooter and supporter of the sport. That said, I find many gun owners willfully ignorant and blind supporters of the "arm everyone" mantra. There are a few tired platitudes often used by the gun lobby that I would like to address.
- Guns don't kill people, people kill people.
This argument... Man, where do I even start? I can't say in polite company the things I think about people that use this absurdity as an excuse for widespread gun ownership. Sure, people kill people and have done so since people were people. We kill each other with rocks, sticks, knives, swords, cars, cannons, you name it. But people with guns can kill a lot more people, more rapidly than any other privately owned device. Get it? People with GUNS. You don't wipe out a classroom full of kids, a bunch of staff and your mother in the space of an hour or so, with a ROCK.
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Cars kill more people... Another foolish argument that doesn't compare to guns, a false comparison. Cars aren't designed to kill people. Quite the opposite, actually. Guns, on the other hand, are designed for the single sole purpose of killing. If you want to compare apples to apples, you must compare the rate of intentional homicide with a vehicle to the rate of intentional homicide with a firearm. Unfortunately for the purposes of this debate the rate of intentional vehicular homicide is so low there are no numbers available. The rate of intentional homicide with a firearm are very easily found. This argument also applies to cholesterol, alcohol and pretty much any other item where "X" kills more people than guns. Name the last time cholesterol wiped out a theater full of people in 5 minutes.
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The second amendment says... Yes it does. But let's backtrack in history a little, shall we?
What does a drive by shooting in 1795 sound like?
Clip, clop, clip, clop, clip, clop...
BANG!
Clipclopclipclopclipclopclipclop...
They didn't have 75 round drum mags when this was written. They didn't have Columbine when this was written. They didn't have guns that spewed rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger, run out, and replace the magazine in the matter of seconds, when this was written. Also, look at the second amendment very, very closely. It says "AMENDMENT" right there in the title. Our forefathers were smart enough to know that they couldn't see the future and that our Constitution can be changed. That time needs to come sooner rather than later.
- There are enough gun laws... Yes, there are. And they're all wrong. Poked full of holes by a gun lobby. The slate needs to be wiped clean and started fresh. I have zero problem with people owning any kind of gun, I'm even open to full-auto ownership. BUT. Not everyone should be able to do so. Background checks, psych eval, Dr. examinations, should be the standard for gun purchase and become more rigorous with the level of lethality of the weapon sought for purchase. No history of chronic depression or mental issues whatsoever. Also, some standard of securing weapons in the home needs to be made. No loaded guns left in the closet, nightstand, etc. to be stolen or used in a deadly awful game by children. Gun owners should be held legally responsible for the crimes committed with those weapons should they fail to do so. Private sales of weapons should be held to the same standard and conducted through the local law enforcement agency where the gun can be held in "escrow" until the checks are completed.
There's much more I could write, but I can only type so fast on a mobile, I may revisit this later and add more.