I am now firmly against a certain definition of the 2nd Ammendment to the Constitution that allows for people to own and use handguns. This position now places me directly at odds with about half of my friends and, at least, one brother. I did not start out with this position, but over the years I have been slowly drawn to the conclusion that handguns are dangerous not only to those being threatened by them but also to those who own them and to any society that allows them to remain legal.
I have seen too many lives destroyed or nearly destroyed by ready access to handguns. For my own part, the first time I ever held a handgun was at a friend's birthday party. I had left the party early to take my girlfriend home and when I came back (still completely sober, unfortunately) I was met at the door by my brother with two six shooters. "Here," he said, "Take these home and put them in a safe place. Some idiot brought them to the party as part of his costume and he's getting drunk and dangerous." In the interest of public safety, I took the handguns and walked home. Only about halfway home did I realize that I was a teenager walking around late at night with two handguns in a backpack - not the smartest thing in the world to be doing. I got home and hid them and was pleased when they were returned to their rightful owner the next day (after he'd sobered up). The sobering effect of this incident stayed with me for a long time.
Don't get me wrong. I like to shoot handguns. I scored 39 out of 40 on my marksman test at the Navy Training Base (though I really have to attribute that to luck since the shooting range was quite dark and I wasn't allowed to use my glasses as they interfered with the safety goggles - I just shot in the general direction of the blurry object that was my target and hit it 39 out of 40 times. 39 1/2 actually, since the one that missed was me shooting one of the two clips that held the target in place. ;). I have been shooting with friends before at a variety of ranges. I have shot everything from Mac 10's to rifles, including a variety of handguns in all different calibers. There is a certain thrill to feeling that much power explode in your hand.
When I returned from the Navy, my brother had handguns. He liked them. He took them to a shooting range. He did not tell my parents that he had handguns. He used to sleep with one under his pillow. It scared the hell out of me. It still does. When my step-mom accidentally stepped on his pillow while dusting in his room and discovered his guns, she didn't say anything, but my brother was asked to move out a few months later. He has not been allowed to move back since. Though the guns were only the final straw in an already straining relationship, they are the primary reason he is not allowed back into the house.
My brother moved in with my sister. She told me that my brother had come within an inch of shooting his best friend when his gun accidentally went off while he was cleaning it. It left a hole in the wall that they eventually were able to plaster. Still, my brother did not give up his guns. They were cool. They were fun. They were completely safe, so long as you took every precaution. I can't speak for what his best friend thought at the time. But I know that he remained a gun lover as well.
As I got older and grew more distant, I began to notice a disturbing trend. More and more people that I knew were directly, or indirectly, affected by gun violence. Here a friend's cousin had been gunned down. There a kid I knew in high school killed in a drive-by. Here a friend's father arrested and jailed for owning illegal firearms (ex-Green Beret type). There a friend of a friend blowing his brain's out with a handgun. I kept telling myself that these were all people who abused the use of the gun - that it wasn't the handgun's fault.
Over the weekend, my brother was arrested. Depending on which version of the events you hear, the charges range from serious to very serious. They all involve a handgun in some capacity - whether concealed or what not. I know that my brother and his guns are usually around each other at all times - sometimes legally, sometimes not. My brother has told me stories, I think to try and impress me, and I have warned him again and again to be cautious, but my words continued to fall on deaf ears. I will reserve judgment on my brother and just try to be supportive of him during this trying time, but I am downright adamant that my brother would not be in this position if he didn't have access to handguns.
The Way of the Gun is quite seductive as we've all seen. It gives us the power to defend ourselves without really setting any firm guidelines as to what that means. It may come out of a belief of the right to self-preservation - that you are buying the gun to protect yourself. But then it begins to extend itself the longer you own the gun. First its you, then its your home, then its your family, then your friends, then your property, then your honor, then your way of life. With a gun in your hand you feel emboldened to "protect" more and more things until you no longer know where you end and where someone else begins. Without even thinking about it, you begin to believe that might makes right and that you are entitled to such rights. What starts out as a simple handgun locked safely in a cabinet, becomes an obsession with larger calibers, more ammunition, shooting ranges, concealed weapons permits, and street cred. Those of us who don't have guns can only watch as those who do continue down this long, spiral, path.
I have seen or witnessed too many people being destroyed by hand guns and by their attendant lifestyle. I have had enough. It's time we put guns back in the hands of the police and criminals where they belong and let this Hollywood Cowboy American image of handguns die a quick death before it bleeds us all dry.
On this, for a change, I can not be swayed.
7 comments:
First, I wish your brother well. Please know, I will be thinking and praying for him and your family during this difficult time.
I certainly cannot comment on the dynamic of his situation, but I fail to see how banning handguns would solve the problem.
As I see your thesis, the hand-gun itself exudes an evil mind control over its possessor causing him/her to think/act in ways s/he would not otherwise. If handguns do this and they are gone but 12 gauge shotguns remain, doesn't the problem still exist?
Of course, if it does exist, not everyone is seduced to bad behavior. One acquires a weapon either with good or evil intent. If the intent is at the outset evil, then by definition the person is a criminal. If the motive is pure, but then changes to evil and the owner acts upon it, then again the person is a criminal. The bottom line is that problem is in the soul of the gun owner and not the gun.
Further, as you point out, your proposed solution would leave these
things in the hands of those who would wish you or me or my family ill. Why would you deny the right of defense to someone else?
Of course, that question presupposes such a right exists, which I concede is a different issue entirely.
Good thought provoking post. Again, I'll be praying for your bother.
Cheers.
Randall -
Thanks for your prayers and your response. I know that I can't change your mind but I wanted to respond anyway.
As I said in my post, I once believed the same as you. And I have been to shooting ranges and fired weapons before. And I used to say that we needed the 2nd Ammendment and that every law abiding citizen ought to be able to own a gun.
The fact of the matter is, though, that all of those people who were victims of guns probably thought the same thing. They didn't have a problem buying a gun, didn't have a problem owning a gun - until they were shot and killed, or until they committed suicide, or until they accidentally killed someone. None of these situations might change if handguns were banned. They might still be shot and killed by a criminal. They might still commit suicide. They might still accidentally kill someone. But it might not happen very frequently.
Do you honestly think a criminal thinks twice about whether you have a handgun or not before he breaks into your home when you're not there and steals your TV? The only reason he'd wonder whether you have a gun is so that he could steal it and sell it at a pawnshop or on the street.
The point of my post, however, was not to point to the idea of the gun itself as being bad. It isn't, per se. Its a tool, like a hammer or a computer and you're right that the soul of the gun owner is what decides how the gun is used. The point of my post was to point to the culture around gun ownership as being the problem.
Why do you need a gun? To defend my home. Why can't the cops do that? Well, they can't be everywhere, can they? We are legitimizing paranoid behavior by licensing lethal weapons to ordinary people and convincing them that owning a gun will make them feel safe. Safe people are not always cautious. And they are not always stable. And there are plenty of safe people who take their safety with them (after all, why should they only feel safe in their home?)
As for the rifles and shotguns, I left those available for two reasons. First, they're much harder to conceal. And second, there is a huge population of hunters and hunting enthusiasts who use the guns for, more or less, legitimate means.
When I was in Idaho this last spring, we went out to hike in the mountains and at the last second my friend's Dad grabbed the pistol for the trip. When questioned as to why he was bringing a pistol, he said, "In case of wolves." That was the first time, in my entire life, that I had ever heard of having a handgun for a legitimate reason. But again, like you, I had simply accepted all reasons as being legitimate before.
Now, I think, I know better.
Wow, Will.
My prayers go out to your brother. Knowing the kind of person he is, it is troubling, and the stuff you say about him, particularly about his braggadocio, is something I know I'm all too familiar with in my dealings with him over the years.
This is a hard topic for me. I choose not to have guns, have never shot a gun in my life (although I have held one), and agree with many of your points, but for the illegality of owning the handgun. I understand your argument, but I'm not convinced it would make the world a safer place, necessarily, were we to ban the owning of handguns...from a legal perspective.
But such is the fallen nature of the world in which we live, in which we make idols of possessions, whether home, car or guns.
Not sure of the right answer, but we each need to follow our hearts on this.
yes yes and yes.
Honey - Thanks for stopping by.
Guys, I'm sorry, but Honey has convinced me that I'm right and you're wrong. I learned long ago never to argue with a woman who knows how to ride horses circus style!
Though, to be fair, her "Yes, Yes and Yes", could have been refering to all of our comments, in which case, we're all equally correct in the eys of the circus horse rider.
(Seriously, I loved your 25 Talents post, Honey, and I'm probably going to steal the idea here at ICON just as soon as I can come up with a list of 25 things. Does collecting Belly Button Lint count as a skill?)
and I enjoyed your comments on my blog, thanks for joining in. (Albeit you sound a tad dangerous)
The Yes (x3) was because you managed to put in writing that I have been long feeling. And I thank you for your eloquence.
I may well write a response of my own and link to here at a future date if I may.
Honey - you are welcome to attach to my blog in any way you want - the more acrobatic, the better. ;)
I just love your story about circus riding. I'm going to steal that for a novel someday. ;)
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