I was jotting down my new year hopes and prayers the other day. You know what made the top of my list? New and tougher gun control laws in the United States of America. It is not only sad and scary, but it is also shameful. So when I started my new year resolution list, I didn't even have to think about it. It was at the top of the list immediately. Listen to this from an article from Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post:
In 2010, guns took the lives of 31,076 Americans. Most of the deaths were suicides; a few were accidental. About a third of them -- 11,078 -- homocides. That's almost twice the number of Americans who have been killed in a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In Britain, by comparison, the number of gun homicides in 2010 was 58.
Other interesting studies suggest that guns actually make the owner more vulnerable. Yet we are talking about more armed citizens and teachers. An investigative report by Mother Jones magazine found, "Not one of the 62 mass shootings in the United States over the last 30 years has been stopped by armed citizens. More broadly, attempts by armed civilians to intervene in shooting rampages are rare -- and are successful even more rarely. Two people who tried it in recent years were gravely wounded or killed."
A guy named Bruce Maiman who occasionally attended with his wife, the church I served in Rocklin, wrote the following in a special to the Sacramento Bee:
If we conclude, as happens on a daily basis, "Boy, there's somebody who shouldn't be driving," what makes you think that doesn't apply to gun ownership? And we're far more thorough with car ownership than we are with gun ownership.
Let's pray for and work for or support those who are working for tougher gun laws in our country.
I am not a gun fan - thought I think it's because I really haven't shot one since I was a kid... I remember shooting a .22 rifle at a tin can at my uncle's house... so maybe if I had more experience with guns, I wouldn't shy away from them so much. I have no problem with my son learning the rules and safety of guns, and he will... in Boy Scouts. However, I can't see where stricter gun laws are really, truly going to help - because those who really want to do harm are going to skirt around the laws and still get the guns illegally.
ReplyDeleteI do not, however, feel we should be arming our teachers or placing armed police in our schools. I do not feel that makes anyone anymore safe - didn't anyone see Kindergarten Cop... someone still got shot!
I tend to think that we should focus on people more then control of weapons. California gun laws are some of the strictest in the US.
on another note, here is an article that was interesting... I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but it was interesting: http://www.northcoastjournal.com/news/2013/01/10/confessions-liberal-assault-weapon-owner/
my own views are very conflicting I guess too... so are these ramblings I suppose.
Thanks for stating the facts Steve. Its amazing to me that there is any opposition to having background checks before a gun purchase. Who would be against that? That's not "taking guns away from people" its a common sense move that the NRA opposes but the majority (about 93%) of Americans support. the culture of revenge and blame we live in promotes violence.
ReplyDeleteThis was on a "friends" wall on facebook today - and I found it fitting to share. It was a repost of one of his friend's comments,
ReplyDelete"When our forefathers were writing the Bill of Rights, the average rate of fire of an infantryman was two rounds per minute with a Flintlock musket, if we are serious about following the letter of the law and the intent in which it was written perhaps only flintlocks should only be allowed. Afterall it is very wrong to mess with the Bill of Rights".
An interesting comment to think about.