Posted by
Bert Chapman on Tuesday, August 07, 2012 7:33:16 PM
Gun control and 2nd Amendment rights have reentered national political debate following the recent shooting rampages at a Colorado movie theater and a Wisconsin Sikh Temple. Both of these tragedies, like all violent crimes, are products of inherently sinful nature and no gun laws could have prevented them. The Sikh tragedy is particularly ghastly because Sikhs have been and are valuable contributors to America and other anglospheric societies. They are exceptional soldiers and business personnel and there are Sikhs who are Conservative Members of the British and Canadian parliaments. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is also of Sikh ancestry.
I'm a strong supporter of 2nd Amendment rights and oppose the efforts of militant gun right opponents to restrict the legitimate ability of Americans to possess firearms to protect themselves against criminal activity. Title 18 Sections 921-931 of the U.S. Code contains federal firearms laws and we should adequately enforce existing statutory law before lumping new laws of questionable utility on to the statute books. It is good that there are works such as John Lott's More Guns Less Crime (University of Chicago Press) which empirically document that personal gun ownership serves as a criminal deterrent. It is also good that "historian" Michael Bellesiles infamous book Arming America had its Bancroft Prize (a prestigious history writing award) revoked because he used false and non-existent evidence to claim that there was no tradition of personal gun ownership in America before the Civil War. However, many 2nd Amendment supporters do the cause no favor by with their often paranoid personalities and illogical thinking. I have no problem with an individual or family owning a few pistols or hunting rifles for legitimate household defense or personal outdoor recreation. There is absolutely no credible reason for a law-abiding and sane individual to have assault rifles or more powerful firearms or even explosives in their houses. What kinds of enemies do these individuals have or think they have?
I think there should be limits on how many guns individuals can have and that they should be subject to periodic mental health and criminal background checks. Unless, you have real life terrorists or violent criminals after gunning for you, heavy duty firearms do not need to be part of your household decor. We would have fewer incidents of violent crime, if there were more expeditious application of the death penalty and if people avoided getting their exalted conceptions of personal honor so easily offended and tried to peacefully resolve their differences like rational adults. Individuals also need to recognize that God gives us a certain amount of time on earth and realize that no amount of firearms will stop us from being killed if that's God's will for our lives. Having every individual at movie theaters armed with guns would only have increased the number of dead and injured since they would not have had proper training and skills to fire accurately at killers like James Holmes in a crowded theater. Conceal and carry laws have some value, but should not be viewed as a panacea for violent crime. Pro-gun rights individuals and organizations need to carefully consider the logical and moral consequences of unrestricted firearms ownership by mentally unstable and morally deranged individuals. I'm opposed to the attempts of gun abolitionists to destroy the 2nd Amendment and even consider turning U.S. constitutional rights over to international governance. At the same time, I am equally opposed to sociopathic fools who have a talismanic fetish toward gun ownership and the right to keep and bear arms. Gun ownership is a sober and humbling personal responsibility and not a subject of manic pseudo-religious adoration.
There also needs to be tougher scrutiny of psychiatrist-patient confidentiality laws. It now appears that Holmes psychiatrist in Colorado broke doctor-patient confidentiality to express concerns about her patient's ability to commit violence to University of Colorado police. Unfortunately, the police chose not to act on the psychiatrist's valid concerns. It's possible the Aurora theater tragedy may still have occurred, but a quicker response by University of Colorado or other local law enforcement officials may have prevented this tragedy from occurring. We continue inheriting the winds of a society that is precipitously declining because it has chosen to embrace moral relativism instead of absolute standards of right and wrong in our pursuit of unfettered individual freedom.
Until we acknowledge this reality and take substantive legal and moral steps to correct it, we will continue being plagued by random acts of violence committed by depraved individuals who chose to act out violent fantasies and are so disconnected from genuine human interaction that they don't have friends or family members who can help them resolve their frustrations in more peaceful ways.