A couple days ago as most of you know, there was yet another episode in what has become almost annual incidents of shooting violence on our college campuses. This year it was a graduate student in Illinois who had stopped taking his medication, last year an undergrad in Virginia with who suffered from mental illness. Thursday’s violence took from us five bright young men and women. How many more lives are we willing to sacrifice before we finally do something about what is clearly a broken system?
Of course, this is an election year, and there will be no shortage of politicians and activists grandstanding to earn votes and raise cash for their respective campaigns. There will be the typical calls for xpanding restrictions on guns sales or perhaps banning firearms altogether (because you can’t own a gun without using it to shoot someone). The other side of the political spectrum will take the opposite approach, arguing that the problem is that there are not enough guns on campus, that the possibility of students possessing concealed weapons will deter shooters from these murderous efforts (because mentally instable people are renown for their ability to reason, especially during episodes where they decide to commit murder-suicides). Finally, there will also be that bold brand of sociologists who will focus on the "real" culprit behind all these killings: violence in the media (because obviously anyone who listens to rap music or watches G.I. Joe on TV is just waiting to go on a killing spree). While each of these arguments may have some merit, it seems to me that the broader debate about guns and their place in American society has missed the most important point: no matter how you feel about guns or the second amendment, it is clear that the status quo simply isn’t working.
This observation got me thinking, because the answers to the gun problem aren’t so clear as many people make them out to be. For all their insensitivity, the NRA is essentially correct that it is people, not the guns themselves, that kill. Millions of Americans – especially in rural areas – own and use firearms on a daily basis without killing anyone. And even if you did ban firearm sales, it wouldn’t be that difficult to purchase one illegally (pot, for example, is also illegal. Yet somehow it is pretty easy to get a hold of). Moreover, even if you did manage to get rid of all the guns out there, it’s not like people couldn’t find other ways to kill each other. The automobile is an incredibly dangerous weapon when not used properly – and yet no one is talking about banning cars or imposing stiffer penalties on drunk drivers (and when I say stiffer, I mean things like repossessing your car for being caught with a DUI or forcing you to attach a breathalyser to your ignition for all your future cars). Finally, it’s worth noting that for certain individuals, gun do provide protection. My mother was once threatened by a stalker. She got a gun and concealed weapons permit, showed it to the creep one day and he left her alone after that. So there they do provide a valuable service when used properly.
I won’t spend much time here debunking the opposite argument – that individuals should be able to purchase and carry guns in any location or setting, because it seems to me to be an obviously ridiculous argument. Do we really want students taking hand guns to class or to meetings with their professors? How about to court or to political rallies (I’m sure the secret service would love that idea)? And I don’t know about you, but I sure as hell don’t trust most people enough to let them make their own decisions about when to use deadly force (as a society, we are still struggling with the concept of not driving and talking on the cellphone at the same time – and yes I’m as guilty of that as anyone). We have a professional police force for a reason, and that is because they are, well, professionals.
So where does this leave us? Well, I couldn’t help but think of the comparison I’ve made above about cars. To drive a motor vehicle, you need to get a license from the state. This involves more than just filling out a form (which as Cho showed, you can easily lie on) or going through a background check. You have to prove that you’ve undergone professional training, that you know the law and aware of proper procedures, and that you can actually operate the vehicle in a safe manner. Every so often you have to return to ensure that you remain qualified. Why the hell don’t we have a similar procedure for licensing firearms? The process would ensure gun owners would be aware of safety standards and that they knew how to properly operate their weapons (reducing accidental deaths). It would deny people with medical conditions like Cho or Stephan Kazmierczak from getting their hands on weapons. And most importantly, it wouldn’t threaten anyone’s second amendment rights (I’ve never heard someone complain that the government was trying to take away their car because they had to get a license). Reasonable, responsible individuals would be guaranteed access to firearms simply by proving competency and knowledge of the law, while ridiculous things like babies getting gun permits babies getting gun permitscould be put to a stop.
So what I’m saying here is why no think about institutionalizing the gun buying and licensing process in a format similar to the DMV? All in all, this seems to me like a win-win situation that both the NRA and the Brady campaign could get behind. I’m curious to hear what you think...
p.s. It seems to me that lately no diaries are read or talked about unless they mention recent presidential endorsements, explain why someone supports a particular candidate or does a little candidate hating. So to get a real discussion going about gun policy, I thought I’d add the following bonus mad lib. For this you will need:
Candidate 1 & 2
newspaper/person not running for president
particular ethnic/gender/religious/socio-economic group 1 & 2
state 1 & 2
verb 1 & 2
adjective
color
animal name
occupation
group (general)
imaginary creature or character
movie action star or NASCAR driver who has endorsed a Republican presidential
BREAKING NEWS: ___________ (candidate 1) was endorsed by ________________ (newspaper/politician 1) today! This is incredibly important, because __________ (newspaper/person not running for pres) is very popular with ___________ (particular ethnic/gender/religious/socio-economic group 1). ____________________(particular ethnic/gender/religious/socio-economic group 1) holds the key to the upcoming vote in __________(state 1). ________(state 1) will essentially decide the Presidential nomination, because it is an important state. Most other states like _______________(state 2) are not important because they are ___________(adjective) and have lots of (particular ethnic/gender/religious/socio-economic group 2). Plus, their geography dictates that ______(candidate 2) should have won them anyways. Only states that are _________(color) make a difference when deciding who to vote for. And anyway, ___________(candidate 2) wins don’t count because they had more ________ (object) than my candidate had. But getting back to the point, George W. Bush is a(n)________________(animal name). He is by far the worst ___________(occupation ever). If you don’t vote for _____________(candidate 1), you are essentially voting for Bush and the Republican party to win the election. In fact, the entire fate of the ________ (group) depends upon your decision here, so don’t screw it up. Otherwise, ___________ (movie action star who has endorsed a Republican presidential candidate) might have to come and kick your ass. Oh! And the terrorist might win! Unless you __________ (verb 1)!
By the way, since you read this diary, and this blog is dedicated to ____________(verb 2) democrats, you are now contractually obligated to vote for ___________(your candidate). If you don’t, __________(imaginary creature of character) will be very angry with you, and use magic to turn you into _____________(object). Also, i hate__________(someone else's candidate)!
But no matter what, please remember that this is BREAKING NEWS!!!!