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The NRA and the Brady Campaign, Take II |
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Gregory Morris, 9/6/07 10:51:33 am |
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Here's another article on the same topic as my previous post.
This one is well written without the standard anti-gun hysterics and inaccuracies. He suggests something that any reasonable moderate could look at and say, "Huh. That's a fantastic idea. Just like communism was a fantastic idea. Too bad neither of them work."
Maybe I'm being hard on him. He either isn't well versed on the constitution, or he doesn't care about the history of the bill of rights. I abhor the former. I disagree whole-heartedly with the latter, although I accept that it is at least a valid stance. If he's ignorant of the historical context and meaning of the Second Amendment, then perhaps he should read up. If he feels that it doesn't matter, and that it should be interpreted in a way that is purely contemporary, then he should state that.
Actually, he says we should just dump it and start from the ground up. I know that won't work, but even if it was a conceivable solution I still don't think it will work. He is searching for a middle ground between how the country has been since it was founded, and something that is really something new and strange (that's right, I called modern gun control strange... think about it in a historical context, and you'll see what I mean.)
Mark Schannon states that both sides insist their arguments are based on logic, while in reality both sides are rooted deeply in emotion. I'll give him that one. Sure, I love shooting guns. I love the rush I get when I put some hot .30 caliber copper-jacketed lead downrange and it hits dead center on the target. I think that's the emotion he's talking about. That feeling of power you get when you are holding a firearm. Nobody denies that feeling.
However, those emotions (real or perceived) are what blind the anti-gunners to our real arguments. They assume we don't want to give up the "godlike power" we yield when holding a gun. But for most of us, that couldn't be further from the truth. The "emotions" I use when arguing for less gun control are rooted to my lust for personal freedom. Sure, you can logic your way around legal, constitutional and economic bits regarding libertarianism or whatever, but it all boils down to my deeply rooted desire to be self-reliant, free to make my own decisions, and free to choose my own destiny. That is the only emotion I admit to when discussing gun politics. It is an "emotion" that every patriot from the mid-1700s up until the very second has felt.
Those who want to ban guns don't feel the same way I do. They want to be given safety instead of acquiring it for themselves. They want to be provided for. They want to be taken care of. But I have never told them that they have to acquire safety for themselves, only that I should not be forced to adhere to their world view. Is it wrong to want to be left alone? I don't think so. Is it wrong to take away my most fundamental right because it "feels good" to part of the population? Absolutely. To me, proposing the repeal of the Second Amendment is akin to saying, "I don't care if you want the right to free speech, I'm not actually using mine," then suggesting we dispose of the First Amendment. |
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| | [Comments are closed after a month.] |
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