After the mass shooting in Las Vegas where a lone gunman opened fire on a crowd of concert-goers, Americans find themselves again arguing over the issue of guns in America; the right to own them and the need for regulation.
Personally I find there seems to be a disconnect between those who believe in the unfettered right to own guns and those who believe in regulations to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people and the availability of high powered assault weapons that can let loose a volley of bullets in a short period of time, allowing the shooter to take out multiple targets, in this case 59 deaths and as many as 500 injuries. Those numbers might change, depending on those holding onto life at multiple hospitals in the Las Vegas area.
The misunderstanding to me is the idea that those who believe firmly in the Second Amendment see those who seek to regulate guns in various ways, as wanting to take guns away from lawful gun owners. This is not the case with most of us who want decent gun controls. I for one also believe firmly in the Second Amendment and the right of Americans to own guns, but I also believe that there are regulations that need to be implemented to make guns less available to the wrong people.
People like me do not live in some bubble that we believe that if there are background checks on all guns sold in America and high powered assault weapons are only available to the military and to law enforcement that this is an end all, cure all solution to gun violence. Even if we implement all the decent gun laws that we can implement, there will still be gun violence and unfortunately, gun lobbyists such as the NRA will use those violent opportunities to point a finger and say, “See, even with all those regulations, there is still gun violence”.
Folks like me are trying to say that once you start regulating guns in a way that seeks to limit guns to those who can pass a background check and perhaps the scope of the style of weapons sold to the public, we can then start to see a gradual lessening of gun violence over an extended period of time.
What we have currently in America is a saturation of guns into our society, thanks to the overzealous reach of gun manufacturers to sell more of their product and the success of the gun lobby to convince Americans that the answer to gun violence is more guns. There is no logic to the idea that if you put more guns into the hands of law-abiding Americans that they will be able to protect themselves and others simply by having a gun handy.
The fact is, the guns that are in the hands of criminals and that are obtained by those wishing to commit mass murder are guns that were first bought legally and then were either stolen or in many cases, sold through private sales or through gun shows where no background checks were needed, therefore the saturation of guns into our society.
Those who want to defend the right to own guns without regulations sometimes compare guns to cars. We have certainly have had incidents of terrorists and other lone actors, mowing into crowds of people, sometimes killing several. That argument is not valid for various reasons. Most of us all understand the need for regulations on cars, not to entirely keep tragic things from happening but to keep them at a minimum as much as possible.
Every state requires a driver’s license to drive, but that doesn’t say that an unlicensed driver won’t get behind the wheel and cause havoc. Every state has laws, such as drunken driving laws, seat belt laws, traffic laws, all to help keep us safer, but unfortunately those laws don’t work perfectly enough to entirely keep us safe. However, we all do understand that without those laws it would be a lot worse. Just doing without the traffic laws alone; no speed limits, no traffic lights, etc., the death toll would rise markedly.
Why is it any different for guns? The difference is that there’s a lobby out there working day and night to convince a large portion of our society that any regulation on guns at all is an effort to take guns away from law-abiding citizens. They use fear tactics to further their cause because the more gun violence, the more Americans feel a loss of control over their lives and their family’s lives when it comes to being safe from gun violence.
As far as the mass shooting in Las Vegas, I grew up listening to country music and I have been around folks who love country music and believe me, there are no bigger fans for Second Amendment rights than that of country music lovers and I know also that most of them own guns. That did not save them from the volley of gun fire coming out of a hotel window high above where they were at. It was a helpless situation that all they could do was take cover or run.
In my lifetime and throughout my spiritual walk with God I have learned one valuable lesson: I do not allow fear to decide for me what I shall or shall not do, or do I allow fear to lead me. The walk of faith calls for us to put our trust in God, not in the invention of a firearm that may someday save us from a violent act but then may not, depending on the situation.
Certainly, I believe Americans should have the right to own a firearm to protect their homes, their lives and their families. I certainly don’t expect everyone to have faith and to trust God, though there is no better protection plan than the blood of Jesus as far as I’m concerned; that’s where I will put my trust.
But please my Second Amendment enthusiasts, there’s a good reason for decent regulation, though it be guns, cars, or what is put in our drinking water. If we want to bring down the number of gun deaths across America, putting more guns on the streets is not the answer. If you feel owning a gun will make you feel safer, then by all means go buy yourself a gun, I won’t fault you for it.
However, stop listening to the gun lobby that wants to convince you that any suggestion at gun control is just liberals trying to take away your guns; they just want to sell more guns, and that’s because they’re heavily in the pocket of gun manufacturers, as is many politicians pushing the same lies.
Sit down with your so-called liberal neighbors and friends, and find compromise, because compromise is not a dirty word. None of us want to see children mowed down in our schools or concert-goers mowed down, just because they’re out enjoying a special night. Stop demonizing each other and find solutions that work for us all. We all have a common bond; we all want to feel safe and secure in America once again, for ourselves and our loved ones. Let’s begin to listen to each other, instead of those who have something to gain from our fear.