Unfortunately, my political views are generally not that interesting. I’m not a Republican who hates the war, or a Democrat who supports it. I’m just a mostly boring left-of-center. But there’s one position I can’t identify with: Gun control. Despite being against the war, for social security, and pro-choice, the Democrats are wrong on the issue of gun control.
Now don’t get me wrong. While I’m a member of the NRA, I’m not “pro-gun.” I think guns are stupid, and that they can and do kill people. But I do think the Second Amendment should be interpreted to mean normal people should carry guns. So why should we protect our right to bear arms?
The only positions less sensible, in my view, than those of the gun control left are those of the “pro-gun” right. The argument some supporters espouse regards the right to hunt and to protect our home from burglars, both of which, to me, are somewhat crazy. There aren’t many good arguments out there for gun rights.
Probably the most common argument supporting the Second Amendment is that we should be allowed to hunt. This argument, for someone who also supports the Second Amendment, is incredibly annoying. First off, there is no reason to hunt. I mean, it might be fun, and traditional, but honestly: Good meat is available at your local Market-of-Choice. The more perfect union was not created so people could freely hunt. I mean, they weren’t against it, but compared to the ideals of liberty, justice and religious tolerance, hunting just seems so, well, petty. Another problem, perhaps a bigger one, is that it’s not a good argument. So we want to hunt. Why do we need an assault rifle? It’s not a convincing reason. Yes, hunting, for those who enjoy it, is an added bonus of the Second Amendment. But no, it’s not why we should keep it.
The other big one is the argument that we need guns to protect our homes from the occasional burglar. This drives me crazy. First off, it implies that in order to have any effectiveness, the property-protector must keep their gun cleaned, loaded, and accessible at all times, just in case a burglar comes rolling in. If they have children, or simply make a mistake, this practice could be incredibly dangerous. Must we forget: Guns are designed to kill people and animals, and they’re rather unforgiving in doing so. It’s dumb to keep a gun loaded and accessible, even if you live in a fairly dangerous neighborhood. The likelihood of it killing you is way higher than that of it deterring some burglar, and to assume this is a good reason to have one lying around is simply dishonest. It also requires that the burglar doesn’t find it first, but that it’s still accessible enough for you to get to quickly, that you don’t have anyone living with you who it could hurt, and that you’ll really be willing to gun down a burglar upon his or her arrival. There is a slight chance you’ll be better off against an intruder if you’re armed, but the risk of hurting others is awfully high. It seems good as a secondary reason, but with police and alarms to protect our homes, gun rights aren’t really justified by this rationale alone.
So why keep them? If we look to our constitutional history, the answer is much more obvious than hunting, tradition and domestic protection. Like everything in the Bill of Rights, it is a safeguard against only one entity: the government. For me, this is the only even remotely logical reason to keep deadly weapons on the streets. It is important, to protect us from tyranny, that the politicians know their citizens are armed. Can we, the people, stop a professional army? Can we actually overthrow the government in some doomsday scenario? It’s hard to say. But one thing’s for certain: We stand a much better chance if we have guns. I think the founders realized this, and so, when they drafted the Second Amendment, they made sure to include the words “free state.” In this, there’s one other worthwhile benefit: protection. My guess is that it’s harder to invade an armed country than an unarmed one, and national security is a reasonable justification for the right to be armed.
The right to bear arms, like all Constitutional rights, carries with it incredible responsibility. We need trigger-locks, safeties, and must always be properly trained in how to safely operate and store guns. Background checks are probably also a good idea. But even with these, the consequences of gun circulation couldn’t be offset by hunting, self-defense, or the Second Amendment “tradition.” Liberty is the only ideal of enough value to legitimize something as dangerous as gun ownership.
[email protected]