Another week and another shooting. I know that’s an exaggeration but it does feel like that. It just makes me want to scream. In the span of a couple of weeks we have 16 dead from gun violence. When is it going to stop? Why do we have more problems than other countries? Why do we define being free with having the ability to buy and carry a gun? There are a lot of questions but I am not hearing a lot of answers. There are countries that are a lot freer than we are were the people do not carry gun. Guns are not what makes us free.
The 2nd amendment reads: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to bear Arms shall not be infringed.This one sentence is the root of all our problems. It spells out what they are trying to accomplish with this simple statement. It is allowing the States to have their own militias and you have to bring your own gun. Simple. The question I always ask myself is what if the State doesn’t want a militia? What does that do to your right to own a gun? Since it is a well regulated Militia for the Security of a Free State who does the regulating? I would think it would be the Governor of that Free State. When was the last time a Governor called up a militia? The last time that I can find was during WW II, Oregon and Alaska did call up the unorganized militia.
Now I am not going to argue about gun ownership because I am a gun owner. In fact I own six guns. I am not going to argue about you having the right to protect your family and home because I believe I have a right to protect my family and home. One thing that I will tell you that I do not feel I have a right to just walk around with a gun. Do I feel safer when I see a man with a gun? NO! I don’t even feel safer with policeman with a gun anymore. Sad, but that is how I feel. People with guns scare me. I really think that people with guns want to scare other people. It is not about safety it is about intimidation. Now I am not a young man. I never saw anyone but the police carrying a gun when I was a boy in the 50s and 60s. The 2nd amendment was written in what 1791 and I was born in 1953. I grew up in the Cold War and the threat of Communism. I was a young man during the Cuban Missile Crisis and never saw a single citizen carry a gun. Why is there a need for a bunch of people running around with an AR15 now? Because of a virus that you can’t shoot at? Because your governor wants you to wear a mask so you keep your neighbor’s safe?
Open carry is not just a form on intimidation it is also a form of racisms.Why do we view a black person as more violent than a white person. Blacks protests and there is law enforcement presence galore. Blacks marching in Washington DC and we see National Guard armed to the teeth. White congregated to protect a lie that the election was stolen and they can storm the Capital and threaten our democracy because they are not viewed as a threat. Why is that? Too many people in society and our government feel that we need to be protected from the “Black menace” but that white terrorism is a myth. There are many that believe that the 2nd amendment is rooted in racism. Many have argued that it was out there so States could put down a slave insurrection. That actually make sense to me though, many will argue.
There are so many guns on the streets how does a policeman know a good guy from a bad guy? Lets say a police officer runs to an active shooter situation and there is a private citizen with his gun drawn. Does the cop shoot? Does the cop not shoot? How does he know? Does the paranoia of not knowing who has a gun and who doesn’t contribute to some of the police shootings? I would believe that it does. How can a country that says if backs the police want to put more guns onto the streets. Wouldn’t that just make it that much harder to protect our streets.
Now any business has the right to tell you that you cannot enter their store with a gun. It is their right and they are not violating the Constitution for making such a policy. I would not shop in a business where I saw people running around with guns. Open Carry is scary and in my mind has no place in this country or with the 2nd Amendment. How do I know if that person is stable or not? The first place I would start is not taking away peoples guns. I would take away their right to intimidate someone with that gun.
I own 6 guns and have never carried one around in public. When I feel I have to is when I know our democracy has died.
Hi, I read your blog after finding it from your comment on Heather Cox Richardson's letter of 24 March 2021.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're writing - keep it up! Post a link to it on all your correspondence, tell your family and friends. I have encouraged all my friends to read Prof. Richardson's daily letters, but also to listen to her videos, especially the series on the history of the Republican party.
I'm a Canadian but I have loved visiting the US. However, lately I have been concerned about your democracy and the cult of Trump. I lost a FB acquaintance, a Trump supporter, because she was angry that I was invested in her politics and didn't like Trump. I explained to her that Canada is her neighbour and we are not isolated from them, not economically, not socially, not ideologically. During Trump's presidency, authoritarianism worldwide has gained steam, and attitudes in Canada have not been immune - there are Trump supporters here too and it scares me. I would never want to live in a country where I am governed by fear. As a Canadian, I am not afraid to leave my home. I am not afraid to have my front door unlocked, nor am I afraid that an active shooter will kill me in a public place. Our children are not given active shooter drills in schools. Your reality is not anyone else's reality and it doesn't have to be that way. A silver lining that I see south of the border is that ordinary Americans are standing up and taking action - getting involved in politics for the first time, working at polling places, encouraging their friends and neighbours to vote, using their voice - like you are. I have hope but only if citizens like you, who don't consider themselves affiliated with any side or party, stand up and make themselves heard.