Honestly, I think most people I’ve heard discuss gun control are blinded by their own emotions and idealism. This isn’t a black and white problem.
If you believe the right to own guns (2nd amendment) is a check-and-balance against the rise of a corrupt government in case one day it needs to be overthrown, then shouldn’t the 2nd amendment be updated for the 21st century with the right for any citizen to own private nuclear submarines and atomic bombs? (Takeaway: I think the 2nd amendment has problems.)
The increased right of people to own guns does reduce the rights of innocent people to not be killed (accidentally or on purpose) With guns allowed, more innocent people die from bullets. This is a well-researched, logical fact I won’t debate. So, which right is more important? While considering this, ask yourselves…
Is your right to swim more important than the rights of preteens not to drown? More preteens drown each year than are killed with bullets. Would you be willing to outlaw swimming pools and beaches if you knew it would save one child’s life? 20 children? 100 children? If you wouldn’t give up your right to swim to save a child’s life, then you seriously need to question why you’d limit the right to own a gun. (Clue: you probably give too much credence to your emotion, not enough to statistical reality.)
If we put in place stricter gun laws, shouldn’t we also restrict driving laws (cars kill more kids than guns). And, so, then shouldn’t getting a license be much more difficult than buying a gun? Are you willing to put your right to drive in the hands of some psychiatrist giving you a thorough mental evaluation and combing through your personal medical history? Are you willing to submit to a very intense driving course? If it might save a child’s life, why haven’t you already seen a psychologist and taken a driving course to potentially protect innocent people from yourself?
Conversely, shouldn’t buying a gun be at least as difficult as getting a driver’s license? Currently, it’s a lot easier–my 14 year old can’t drive, but he owns a rifle.
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Powers delivers a page-turning police procedural with Death of a Matador, the latest thriller featuring Detective Grant Starr. The action takes place in—until now—a peaceful little dusty town in Central California. From the first page, the story plunges into the fascinating culture of the local Portuguese community, back-stabbing small-town politics, and the inner workings of a police department dealing with crimes related to current hotbutton issues: animal rights activism and the emerging corporate farming of medicinal marijuana.
In Coming Unglued, Norma Budden’s heart-tugging page-turner about emotional and physical abuse, a young woman named Kelly seeks fulfillment while trying to meet her obligations to family, friends, and God under horrific circumstances: raising a child conceived during rape.
