I don't want us to argue about gun rights.
I want to have a discussion about the issues surrounding gun rights, namely, violence and the potential for violence and how someone like me (a democratic socialist) so easily reconciles her views about social justice and public policy with her defense of the right to keep and bear arms.
RKBA is a DKos group of second amendment supporters who also have progressive and liberal values. We don't think that being a liberal means one has to be anti-gun. Some of us are extreme in our second amendment views (no licensing, no restrictions on small arms) and some of us are more moderate (licensing, restrictions on small arms.) Moderate or extreme, we hold one common belief: more gun control equals lost elections. We don't want a repeat of 1994. We are an inclusive group: if you see the Second Amendment as safeguarding our right to keep and bear arms individually, then come join us in our conversation. If you are against the right to keep and bear arms, come join our conversation. We look forward to seeing you, as long as you engage in a civil discussion. RKBA stands for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
In the first place, I think we should probably establish that the likelihood of any significant change to the 2nd amendment is not likely in America. I think this is true no matter who is in office. No matter whether such a statement makes you happy or sad, I think we're all mature enough to admit that it's the truth.
So given the fact that we aren't likely to see a ban on firearms in America, ever, I think the smart thing to do is to examine what it IS about gun ownership that is problematic for so many liberals, progressives and socialist-types and then have a discussion about those things.
Many people who are opposed to firearms cite the higher levels of violence (both accidental and intentional) brought about by the easily availability of firearms.
As I said, I don't want to argue about that. We do have a more violent society than many of our more restrictive allies. I don't want to argue about statistics and numbers of deaths via firearms versus number of deaths from car accidents or household accidents or medical mistakes. In my opinion, those arguments are academic at best and only highlight the things that make us different rather than focusing out attention on what really matters.
I'm going to use an analogy from the abortion rights issue. Abortion is legal. No matter how much the right doesn't like it, it's legal. BUT as liberals we also want to make it safe and rare. That means we advocate for strong and accurate sex education in our schools. We advocate for the ready availability of contraception to all girls and women of childbearing age. We support and hold dear environments where a girl or woman can be safe to talk to a physician or mental health provider about pregnancy and unplanned pregnancies without judgement or coercion. And that, should a woman decide to have a pregnancy terminated, that there are rules in place for the doctor, the clinic and the patient to protect privacy, safety, and health. And, where these social systems are in place, particularly where we have good solid sex education and contraception availability - wonder of wonders - pregnancy rates and STD rates are lowest. Conversely, where the political right has advocated abstinence only education and restricted the availability of family planning services (including archaic parental consent laws), pregnancy rates and STD rates are higher - oftentimes significantly so. Abortion is still legal. But there are other social and policy positions that we as liberals advocate strongly to try to make it not only legal, but safe and as rare as possible.
So what social and public policy positions do I advocate as a democratic socialist which I believe speak to the heart of gun violence without seeking to strip the rights of Americans to own them?
Let's talk about domestic violence. Let's advocate strong abuse and battered persons support systems. Let's talk about the need for victims of domestic violence to be able to leave (with the kids) and find safety and security while putting their lives back together. Let's advocate strong supportive counseling services for victims to help rid them of the root causes of their reasons for being in and staying in violent domestic situations. And let's get the victimizers into the treatment to see if we can reverse their tendencies to deal with their emotions by striking, injuring and sometimes killing, their mates. Let's increase job training to victims so they don't have to worry about staying with a violent person for financial reasons. And let's work on strengthening the laws with respect to domestic violence offenders. THESE are positions we all, as liberals, agree on with our whole hearts. And if enacted would certainly have an effect on the gun violence (and actually all domestic violence). These social and policy positions and services are available in countries where gun violence is less prevalent, BTW.
Let's talk about random shootings and crazy and/or criminal people who are committing crimes. I bring this up because it's a reality. I don't want to talk about the fact that most criminals get guns illegally. That doesn't really matter. The root causes of most of this crime is poverty. Often times accompanied by mental illness or substance abuse issues. These are facts and a quick look at our nation's jails and prisons will show you that. So why do drug addicts commit crimes? They need money for drugs. It's time for us to rethink our drug policy in America. It's time to legalize marijuana and stop treating abusers of other harder drugs as criminals and treat them for substance abuse. Let's work on creating a system that actually HELPS people get off drugs instead of destroying their lives by adding a jail or prison record to an untreated substance abuse problem. In matters of mental health and untreated mental health conditions (which from time to time give us people who shoot up university campuses or other public places for no apparent reason), - need i say it? We ought to be working toward a single payer health care system for every person living within the United States. We ought to be advocating for strengthening the availability of mental health services even today for insurance companies and people on SSI and Medicare. We need to work on de-stigmatizing mental illness and creating and educating people about free networks of support for various mental illnesses. We need strong career training programs and better educational and vocational opportunities for people to get OUT of poverty. That a university education can cost $60,000 even for a public university is ridiculous and criminal. We ought to be providing 100% free quality education for every American from pre-k through a four year degree.If we could work together to advocate for these changes, violence would go down. These social and policy positions and services are available in countries where gun violence is less prevalent, BTW.
Let's talk about workplace violence. As liberals, we know exactly what to do here too, regardless of where we fall on the issue of the 2nd amendment, because the ROOT cause of a disgruntled employee coming back to shoot up the place (however rare this may be), is poor workplace practices and likely mental illness. We need companies to have rules and regulations regarding the termination of employees. We need strong advocates for employees, not just unions, but any employee. We need better employer-based mental health assistance and perhaps even an employer-based/government-partnered transitional service for any employee who wants it or needs it on termination. We need stringer job training programs and better safety net for those who are out of work temporarily.These social and policy points are available in countries where gun violence is less prevalent, BTW.
Suicide? See above.
Intentional homicide? See above.
Any other socially dysfunctional reason for a person to use a gun to kill, injure or threaten someone? see above.
Just about any reason that one might cite for needing to ban guns or severely restrict them can and should be dealt with at its root, especially if we're honest enough to admit that the 2nd amendment is never going to be altered in any major way in America. An finally, yes, let's examine reasonable rules and regulations about guns and gun ownership and let's leave out all the hype and hyperbole and fanaticism and recognize that we can respect the rights of gun owners and the 2nd amendment, while acknowledging the challenges inherent in making such weapons available. Let's work TOGETHER to make incidence of violence, and in particular gun violence, as rare as possible.