This post has been a long time in coming.
Since I was in high school, and tasked with reading up on debate issues surrounding penal reform, I’ve been something of a gun control supporter. The stats seemed clear: guns in households kill people. Whether it’s innocent kids who get hold of them, or someone shooting a family member they thought was a burglar, or someone grabbing a gun in the middle of a heated argument, guns mean death. End of story. Restrict guns, and you reduce killings. QED.
Except it’s not that simple. In fact, the more I’ve read over the past few years, the more I’ve realized that’s simplistic.
Arguing about whether the ills that privately held guns cause are due to their inherently overly-dangerous nature, due to negligence, or whatever, is a waste of bandwidth, since it’s become almost a religious tenet one way or another between different sides in this debate.
But watching what’s happening in Britain, with its “Don’t dare protect yourself — but, sorry, the police can’t protect you, either” message, and then seeing similar burblings going on here, too, I’ve really come to the conclusion that an (optionally) armed populace is really not all that bad a thing. In fact, it has some “a pack, not a herd” aspects to it that I think are actually positive for society.
Which isn’t to say that the idea of a gun in my own house makes me all that comfortable, to be sure. But, then, life doesn’t seem to be meant to be comfortable, does it?
(via Andrea)
My family has had guns my entire life. As soon as I was old enough, my father taught me how to shoot…and he bloody well taught me to respect what a gun could do. The only time I ever went into the gun cabinet without direct permission from my parents was to kill a water moccasin that was in the stream behind our house. Got it in one shot, too.
Conversely, my brother was raised in the same house, same rules, same methods. Snuck guns out of the house all the time, barely missed going to jail once over it. This was in the mid-80s, if it had been today, he’d no doubt still be in jail.
My point is, safety is all well and good. Licensing is less good but accepted as a necessary intrusion of the state. There will still be people who are fascinated with guns to the point of endangering others, just as there are firebugs and drug addicts etc. ad nauseum. Like so many other things, it comes down to parents actually parenting. Being vigilant, knowing who/what/where your children are hanging with/doing/going….TAKING RESPONSIBILITY!
Well, if you’re going to be radical about it, sure.