The Right to Bear (NOT Bare) Arms

CC Image Courtesy of  kcdsTM on Flickr

It's all over the news and the internet - the tragedy that struck the Aurora, Colorado movie theater when a gunman opened fire on innocent movie-goers. With all the talk about this heartbreaking tragedy comes, of course, talk about gun control. Here's my couple of pennies...


So, am I for or against gun control? Am I for or against the entire banning of guns? Yes and no, respectively. I do believe that something has to change as far as gun control because whatever we are doing isn't working. However, I do not believe that guns should be banned - I do support the Second Amendment.

That said, I do not believe that our forefathers were referring to automatic assault weapons when they wrote the Second Amendment. In fact, I'm pretty sure they weren't. I also do not believe that they had any clue as to what our society would evolve into - I don't even know what our society has evolved into. When you have to worry about your own safety in movie theaters, schools, work places, and generally, just about anywhere - well, I don't know what has happened to us.

I don't know why people snap and hurt people. I don't know why people just hurt people. I don't know that taking away all guns would work because people, even fine, upstanding citizens, would still find a way to have their guns - even if meant buying them illegally. So, a complete ban wouldn't work because people want their guns. I do think that having some sort of stringent regulations and control is an option. Not because I don't want to see you (the general you) with the ability to legally buy a gun. Only because I don't want to see you legally buy an assault rifle - capable of firing hundreds of bullets in a minute or two - without having to jump through some serious hoops - and then you crack and go on a killing spree.

No Red Flags and No Guarantees

The Aurora shooter was able to buy over 6,000 rounds of ammo online! Just a few clicks of his mouse and he had all the ammo he could ever need to go on his killing spree. Why did that not set off any red flags? Oh wait - because there are no red flags to set off. You, any you, any one of you, can buy as much ammunition as you want at any time, without having to provide any reason or documentation, other than a valid ID. I can't even buy certain medicines at the damn store without having to turn over my ID and having my purchases monitored. But I can go buy as much ammo as I want with a flash of my ID and no one keeping track of my purchases - no red flags, no restrictions.

Do I think everyone that owns an assault rifle is going to have a breakdown and kill people? No. But there are no guarantees and you cannot guarantee me that you will never hurt another soul with your massive firepower weapon. You cannot guarantee me that more guns and more people carrying guns will lead to a safer society. Because I don't know you. I don't know what kind of training you have had to possess your arms. I don't know that if something sinister happened in public that I could trust that YOUR gun wouldn't hurt me or my loved ones or any other innocent people. I do not know you, so why do I have to trust you to be armed in public?

Cars and Gun Control - Not a Fair Comparison, IMO

So many people do the whole "cars kills people, too" argument. That just doesn't sit well with me. First of all, you don't buy a car with the intention of shooting anything, whether it be a target, an animal, a person, whatever. You don't buy a car with the intention of hurting anyone or anything. You buy a car to get from one point to another. Car accidents, yes, they do occur and they do kill people. But the key word, to me, is accident. An accident, as in something that you never intended to happen. When a person shoots another person, chances are, in today's world, it wasn't an accident. And I'm not talking about drivers under the influence that shouldn't be behind the wheel and cause a deadly accident. I'm talking about people like me, that just want to get to the store and might be hit by another person just trying to get to the store, too.

I have to pass a written and driving test before I can even get a license. I have to maintain insurance on my car. I have to follow all of the rules of the road. I have to renew my tags and registration every year. I have to strap my kids in when we drive. I have to adhere to all kinds of rules and regulations to get from one point to another. Yes, the right to bear arms (and that IS spelled b-e-a-r for those that consistently spell it b-a-r-e - yes, you do have the right to bare arms, so go ahead and wear that sleeveless shirt if you want to because that is what bare means) is a right, one provided by the Second Amendment to the Constitution. But that amendment does not state that you can own any type of arms that you want, wherever you want, however many you want. Again, our forefathers did not know what kind of weapons would come in the future. Yes, you have the right to bear arms. You do not have the right to pose a potential threat to me or anyone else - and you cannot guarantee me that will never happen.

There are just no guarantees. So, I don't know what the answer is. But I do know that things in this world, they are a-changing - and not necessarily for the better.