(I thought this one was worth revisiting)
The argument that “Guns don’t kill people…people kill people” is a fallacy that needs to be held up to the ridicule it deserves. Does anyone really think that guns aren’t the important part of this equation? How many people would be alive today if the possession of guns had been tightly controlled? How many would be celebrating this Christmas with their loved ones if the assault weapons ban hadn’t been allowed to lapse?
Aurora, Portland, and Newtown are but the latest examples of what happens when gun advocates get whatever they want. It’s also an example of what happens when our laws value the love of firepower over the love of human life. I recognize the hallowed place the 2nd Amendment holds in the hearts of so many Americans, but the 2nd Amendment was never intended as a license to turn America into a free-fire zone. It was written at a time in our history when the most powerful and readily available personal firearm was the musket, which was only accurate within about 30’. The array of weaponry now available is as stunning as it is disturbing and deadly, and it’s time to recognize that 2012 is not 1789. Times change, and what held true 223 years ago no longer applies. We must adapt, or innocent civilians will continue dying because Wayne LaPierre, the NRA, and gun aficionados value the instruments of death over the potential of life.
At the time the Constitution was ratified, Americans lived in a much different world, one in which possessing firearms was often necessary to ensuring one’s survival. That world no longer exists, and it’s time for us to recognize and adapt to that reality. Gun control needs to become a reality. Gun advocates have had many years to prove that more guns equals more safety and more security. They’ve been proven wrong on both counts- dead wrong. Now it’s time to do the right thing and pass strong, effective gun control that will take assault weapons and other weapons of mass murder off our streets. If England can do it (and significant reduce the rates of gun deaths), then so can we…and no, that’s not an argument for turning American into Europe. It’s an argument for turning American into a place where innocent lives aren’t terminated by weaponry that should have no place on our streets.
I’m not naive enough to believe that passing a law will solve all our problems, but that admission should in no way be taken as justification for maintaining the status quo. Yes, Evil will always find a way…but we should not be making it easy for Evil to do what it wishes. It’s time to do the right thing and to do it in memory of those who have died senseless deaths at the hands of madmen carrying weapons of mass murder.
