Guns -- My Response

Well, I have a friend who posted something on my Facebook wall tonight and it most certainly inspired me to respond. However, I must note that the response I posted here is a little "fixed up" in that I corrected some grammar and spelling. I will start by saying that my friend is fairly reasonable, not someone who is out to take everyone's guns but, I do believe a bit naive. He found an article that was written by someone else and the author is unknown but, it also appears to be fairly rational however you'll have to read it for yourself.

So, here's my two cents (which will end up being closer to $1.50 I'm sure) and I'm sure I will regret posting this later, due to the "friends" I will lose while exercising my First Amendment, but here goes.   

Instead of posting a meme with a picture and a falsely attributed quote or a made up statistic, I've spent my time researching the gun violence/gun control debate. And I'd like to talk about some of the pervasive themes I've seen lately.   

First off, Hitler did not say "In order to conquer a country, you must first disarm its citizens." In fact, Hitler made it his position to enable guns to be obtained more easily. http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/disarm.asp  

Secondly, the presidents, and I mean ALL of them, and their families, receive death threats on a daily basis. President Obama did not enact the regulations that REQUIRE Secret Service protection for him and his family. If you believe your children are as much of a target as the president's children, then you have a self inflated idea of your position in this world. http://www.secretservice.gov/protection.shtml  

Thirdly, there is NO law or bill being considered that would allow anyone to come marching into your home to take your legally obtained and legally owned firearms. There are possible laws that are being explored that would require more responsibility on the part of the gun owner or person purchasing a gun (i.e. pass a background check even if buying a gun from a gun show dealer). If you buy a car from a dealer it must be registered (a record of the transfer is documented). If you buy a car from a private citizen, it must be registered. If you buy a gun from a dealer, there is a record of that sale and it is registered. So how is it illogical to require the same for private sales of firearms?   

Fourth, there are not more people being killed with baseball bats than guns. If you disagree with that because you saw a picture stating otherwise on the internet, then I would like to offer you the chance to buy some oceanfront property in Arizona and I'll throw in the Brooklyn Bridge for free. There is no magical solution for solving the problem of gun violence. THAT is what we need to solve. http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/baseballbats.asp  

We don't ban cars that are used in DUI related deaths, but we do enact regulations regarding blood alcohol limits, prosecute people who enable a drunk driver to operate a vehicle after serving them, promote a DUI campaign raising awareness and educating drivers on the dangers of driving while intoxicated. All of which has reduced DUI related fatalities by over 40% in a decade. http://www.centurycouncil.org/drunk-driving/drunk-driving-statistics.  

The media is not hiding other gun related stories because they want to sensationalize the problem, they are simply unable to cover every gun death story because there would be an average of 80 of them each day. So they concentrate (unfortunately) on the massacres which I think we can all agree, happen all too often.  

I find the fact that more children are killed in the US by guns than in the entire Middle East region, very disturbing.   

I find it disturbing that the NRA blames the rise in violent shootings on video games and then comes out with its own shooting video game (categorized for children as young as 4 years of age) less than a month after Newtown.   

I find it disturbing that other countries spend in excess of twice as much as the US on violent video games and have a small fraction of the amount of gun related deaths/injuries.   

I find it disturbing that instead of looking for a solution to a problem like Newtown, there are people wasting their time and energy by trying to turn it into a conspiracy theory.   

I find it disturbing that guns are the third largest killer of children ages 5-14 in the US.  

I find it disturbing that a child in America is 12 times more likely to be killed with a gun than the rest of the "developed" world.  

I find it disturbing that there are more guns privately owned in America than the next SEVENTEEN countries combined.  

I find it disturbing that all of these statistics are not discussed but fake statistics about a baseball bat death rate are plastered everywhere.  

I find it disturbing that some people believe that the ONLY answer to this problem is more guns.   

Banning all firearms is NOT the answer, which is exactly why it's not being proposed. This country has enacted laws that didn't work before, so they've been revised, repealed, reformed, etc. It's ludicrous to think that as a society, we evolve, but the laws governing us cannot? The NRA states that the assault weapons ban didn't work the first time. Well, you know what they say, "If at first you don't succeed, f*%k it.".  

If armed guards are the only answer to ending school shootings, then explain the VT shooting. Virginia Tech had an entire police department complete with a SWAT unit. Explain Columbine, which had an armed officer on staff. When discussing an end to gun violence in schools, there should be NOTHING left off of the table.   

Ronald Reagan, a huge gun proponent and signor of the Brady Bill, wrote to Congress in 1994 asking them to propose legislation limiting or stopping altogether the manufacture of guns classified as assault weapon. And anyone saying "assault weapon" is a made up term should remember that every word in every language is, in fact, made up.  

And yes, criminals don't typically obey laws, but we still have them. Can you use that logic to say there should be none at all? No.  

Let me be clear, I am NOT anti gun. I have nothing against guns or responsible gun owners. I served proudly in the military, I worked in armed security, I've hunted, and enjoy target shooting since I was a kid. And I'm sure most gun enthusiasts are the same way. However, this issue should be discussed logically and rationally, and all I see are comments and pictures that are anything but rational and for the most part, are just viral, inflammatory, unresearched, vitriol.
The president enacted 23 executive actions today, of which only 2 have anything to do with limiting the availability of a category of gun or a magazine capacity. The remaining 21 deal with aspects regarding background checks, school safety and mental health system requirements and deficiencies. Will it be a perfect solution? No. Will it help? We'll see. Is it better than doing nothing? Definitely. If we keep using the statement, "It's too soon to talk about it." after each tragedy, pretty soon, we'll never talk about it.   

OK, so maybe it ended up closer to $2.00 instead of 2 cents. So sue me.

I actually found it disturbing that the author of this article was lacking in basic creativity by constantly repeating the phrase that he "found it disturbing"...but in any case, here is my response:

Gosh, where to begin?? The right to bear arms shall NOT be infringed. Personally I disagree with ANY and ALL gun control. If my government has a tank and I can afford one, then I should be allowed to have one. It's WE the people that form the government, not us vs them. It is not the government's business what weapons I own or how much ammunition I have. It is my right to protect myself anyway I damn well please, just as they have the responsibility to protect us with any and all ways possible. Period.   

Driving is a privilege, not a right. THAT is why it's regulated. There is no amendment that says a person has a right to drive. They don't. So the comparison is merely based on feelings rather than rational logic.   

I don't know what Hitler said or didn't say. I wasn't there and I don't know German. I know he did enact gun control laws however, I have read that many of the laws were not strictly enforced. I guess it just depends on what you read and what you want to believe. I do know it's much easier to control people when they are unarmed. Why do you think when people go to prison they are not allowed to have guns?   

There is no conspiracy. The far left has made it clear they want all weapons to be confiscated. Again, I'm NOT talking about your average democrat. I'm talking about your average far-left loony toon, tree hugging, hippy-liberal, commie sympathizer -- of which there are many in this country, contrary to what those in the left media want you to believe.   

“If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them…. Mr. and Mrs. American turn em all in. I would have done it.” 

Now, fast forwarding 18 years later, Feinstein is set to introduce new legislation that includes the banning of over 800 firearms and the registration and fingerprinting of millions of American gun owners. 

As noted in the report quoted below, the bill is actually the dream bill of a woman who has wanted to disarm the American people from the beginning. 

On Thursday, Feinstein will introduced her dream bill to disarm the American people.
The legislation is open-ended and includes provisions to re-register firearms and submit the fingerprints of law-abiding Americans as if they’re sex offenders.  

Feinstein’s bill will also include a buy-back provision that will allow the government to confiscate all firearms. Both Feinstein and New York governor Andrew Cuomo have said that is their plan.  

http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons  

The rest of the folks who just want more restrictions and other bs laws are merely looking at this from an emotional point of view.   

The problem the author has is not recognizing that most change in this country does not come about in an outright manner and that goes for most of the world. It comes in increments and the fact is there are those in government that DO actively want to work toward a point of disarming Americans. Can it be done? I'm not sure it can now but perhaps one day, yes.   

Our problem is not guns, it's our culture and at the height of this hypocritical notion that we don't "need" certain guns comes directly from Hollywood. Tell me how it is actors like Matt Damon and others who are literally paid millions of dollars make movie after movie, killing people using guns can turn around and tell Americans that they should have their rights curtailed? You realize that companies across this nation pay millions of dollars for 60 sec tv ads, no? One of the most expensive ads a company can buy is during the Super Bowl. Why do companies spend this money? It's because those 60 seconds influence people to buy their product, yet Hollywood idiots also want to tell us that movies that last for 90 plus minutes do not influence children or adults? Really?   

There is nothing better in this country than the right to protecting ourselves from other violent people and from an oppressive government. The founding fathers were not talking about hunting when they wrote the 2nd Amendment, much like the left loves to claim.   

We have a culture problem in this country. It stems from a lack of morality. We have become a collective society that acts as a sociopath. We demonize anyone who is Christian or talks about G-d and say nothing of immoral behavior. We teach our children about condoms and encourage them to have sex and abortions if they get in trouble but if anyone dares to teach children the Bible or suggest they were created by G-d, they are labeled bigots and idiots. Guess what happens when you tell a kid their life has no meaning and we are here only because of a mistake? Yeah, I can see why so many kids have mental problems in this country. If I say I don't support affirmative action because I believe that all men and women should be treated equally and not defined by the color of their skin, I'm a racist. Hell, just being white makes someone racist these days. Gee, I always wondered why so many of these mass shootings are done by white boys.   

I have heard numerous stories from my father and other older people who have told me they knew kids who went to school with guns; my father carried a knife to school everyday, in fact most kids did, and yet where was all the gun violence? Knifing's? Weapons are weapons...it's our culture that has changed.   

...and here we are arguing the issue of guns -- a right that we all should agree upon, just like freedom of speech and yet, for some reason over the years it has been slowly eroded...incrementally, not outright so no, it's not conspiracy, it's a fact and it has happened because we have forgotten our history; we've allowed people to twist and distort facts to fit their agendas. We praise emotion over reality.   

So what if a once convicted criminal owns a gun? If the man or woman has served their time, why should they have to live the rest of their lives unable to protect themselves and their families? It's none of the government's damn business at that point. Guess what? They are going to get protection anyway and all we did was turn them into a criminal again. We give them no chance to get their lives back in order and then we wonder why we have so many people in jail?   

We already have laws that prevent mentally ill people from owning guns and it doesn't do anything because these are the people that are doing the mass killings. Why not ask the real question...why do we have so many mentally ill people in the first place?   

I don't give a rat's ass if Reagan supported gun control. Did it stop any of these shootings? Oh, nope. The idea that we should keep writing and changing laws is absurd. Why is it that there are so many people in this world who actually think they are going to change the world? That they are somehow going to change the fundamental make-up of mankind? Or that some people have a right to protection while others do not because they "have more threats." I don't give a sh!t if someone has ONE threat vs. another who has thousands. What the hell does that matter? Honestly. The person who wrote this has fallen for the idea that Obama is actually more important than himself and his family. Hogwash! Obama is a servant of the people; he's not better than anyone and his threats are not any more or less important. Period. To even suggest otherwise is really a sign of someone who suffers from Stockholm Syndrome. Guess what? ONE threat to me IS equal to thousands toward Obama. Why? It's because I don't live in a plush house surrounded by protection. I don't travel in a bullet proof vehicle. I don't have layers of protection. I have only ONE layer of protection so ONE threat IS actually much greater.
As far as this comment...  

If we keep using the statement, "It's too soon to talk about it." after each tragedy, pretty soon, we'll never talk about it.   

...I have to die laughing because every single time the left opens their mouth about gun control, what's the very first thing that happens? Yep. You guessed it...gun sales EXPLODE. Get it, now?

A couple of things I wanted to add... first, the Hilter quote. It's true that I could not find the source of that particular quote however, I did find an interesting article that does explain that Hilter did express the idea that disarming those who have been conquered would be necessary. To wit:

"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let's not have any native militia or native police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order throughout the occupied Russian territories, and a system of military strong-points must be evolved to cover the entire occupied country." --Adolf Hitler, dinner talk on April 11, 1942, quoted in Hitler's Table Talk 1941-44: His Private Conversations, Second Edition (1973), Pg. 425-426. Translated by Norman Cameron and R. H. Stevens. Introduced and with a new preface by H. R. Trevor-Roper. The original German papers were known as Bormann-Vermerke.

Certainly Hiltler was extremely active in disarming the Jews while his own people were given a pass and why would he have to control the Germans? Most of them seemed content simply going along with whatever he did, saying and doing nothing. Let me also say, maybe it's just me but, when someone starts to *almost* defend Hilter, it really should send up some red flags (at least that's how it comes across to me).

The 23 executive orders do not seem to be anything more than paying lip service and taking an opportunity to exploit children, however this hot button issue is most certainly dividing people and that division is something that Obama loves and thrives in. Does anyone really think that Obama didn't know when he announced plans for issuing executive orders that he didn't know the eruption that would follow?

If there is anything we should have learned over the last 30 years is that gun control is not effective. We have had it for years and years; it's nothing new. It is more of an emotional reaction that allows politicians to pat themselves on the back and give the appearance to the public that they are "doing something."

I'm well aware that I am in the minority when it comes to advocating no gun control whatsoever. Most people do believe in some restrictions; I understand. I also understand that my opinion is just one of many but no matter what, I have enjoyed this discussion and I hope that more Americans study the issue for themselves. Maybe people will finally make an effort to learn our history. Maybe people will understand the importance of freedom and why we must protect it.

We must not be paranoid but as Americans, but we cannot be naive either; we must be vigilant and aware. Our rights are what make us free from tyranny. Our freedom is what allows us to succeed as individuals and in turn as a whole nation. When one person succeeds it is a success for all. As conservatives, our goal should be to help people understand these basic principles.