During the past week, the U.S. Senate finally agreed to vote on some new gun control legislation.
Of course, this has sparked a wide range of debate. The right, the NRA and gun lovers are up in arms as if the government will be beating down their door tomorrow to get their guns.
The left and the parents of the
There is currently a huge gap in
In urban areas, guns are seen as a problem; whereas in rural areas, guns are a part of the culture. Laws in the Northeast and East seem to be tightening gun control where the south and some western states are clearly moving in the opposite direction.
State legislators have introduced more than 1,500 gun-related bills since January, according to the Sunlight Foundation. Half of these laws work in one direction while the other half of the laws weakens gun laws.
Frankly, it is a crazy time that is being fueled by crazy, dug-in people.
I find it amusing where some people think our government is going to go door-to-door and take your gun. Let me be clear, if you believe that this is going to happen … you’re an idiot. Forget for a moment that no one, ever, in our government has proposed this option, but the sheer practicality of going around our entire country door-to-door and rounding up all the guns is ridiculous.
Our police do not have the manpower to properly handle normal crimes. Our border control is a joke. Our airport security is an illusion.
Who is going to go door-to-door to collect the guns? The military? Yeah that’s good, in between the two wars they are already cleaning up; they can go collect some of our 80 million guns.
Secondly, all of these “I’m gonna stand up to the government” people, I have this to ask … just because you can buy 50 AR-15s do you really think you could stand up to government’s weapons systems if they really wanted to go get you? We, the people, already have the cops, military outgunned (assault rifles, shotguns and handguns) by something like 80 to 1, but guns are not going to keep the government from coming to get you if they really want you.
For all the gun people that believe that everyone having a gun will deter a mass shooting such as
Number of mass shootings in
Number of times an armed citizen saved the day — 0
However, how often are our emergency rooms inundated with “accidental” shootings?
Our gun laws are a joke, plain and simple. The time for dumb, ingrained, outdated thinking has passed. We need common sense decisions. In our 62 mass shootings throughout the last 30 years, the guns used in the murders were bought legally 49 times. So clearly, a different approach is needed one way or the other. Also, automatic handguns, assault weapons and high capacity magazines were used in more than half of the shootings.
I will leave you with this … the idea that guns make a woman safer from a stranger attacking them is also a myth. Women are six times more likely to be shot by her husband, boyfriend or ex than a stranger. And if the women has access to a gun, that goes up another seven times higher.
I do not want to outlaw guns. I do not want to give up mine. I enjoy the idea of protecting my bedroom from an intruder. However, can we not use some common sense? Do we really need to be able to walk around with an assault rifle with a 50-round magazine attached?
Is that really necessary for our “sovereign” right to bear arms not to be violated?
Richard Clark is the universal desk chief for Halifax Media Group ENC; his column appears in this space every Sunday. You can reach him at 910-219-8452 or at Richard.Clark@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at kpaws22.