I did not grow up within a strong “gun culture” – my
experiences with guns were few and far between. Having been a Navy Reservist
now for nine years, I am qualified (according to Navy standards) to handle the
9mm pistol, and I have been associating with people who did grow up within a strong “gun culture.” I have found the large
majority of them to be what I would consider “good people” – kind, considerate,
respectful.
Our highly safety-conscious military has extremely
strict rules as to who will carry firearms and when, and how and where those
firearms will be stowed when not in use. Literally every weapon, magazine, and
bullet is accounted for. The first thing you see when you go to the armory to
clean your weapon is a sign in big, red letters: USE OF DEADLY FORCE IS
AUTHORIZED. They are not messing
around in the armory – if they see you doing something irresponsible and
potentially hazardous with your weapon, they will take you down (as a last
resort). Safety first.
It occurs to me that if our military has such strong
weapons regulations and accountability for our own soldiers and sailors, and
given that generally everyone in the military recognizes these regulations as a
matter of common sense and safety, then why shouldn’t we expect such regulation
on the largely untrained civilian population? Are safety and accountability necessarily in conflict with rights and liberty?
Guns are very dangerous. They are lethal. I would
think that a thoughtful, freedom-loving population would see it as being in
everyone’s best interest to bring a few more responsibilities to bear on any
civilian’s right to own a gun. I think we’re all okay with the concept of
“rights and responsibilities.” It just makes sense.
I need to call on my military and “gun culture”
friends to fall back on their training. We know “Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.”
Well, we have a situation here. Something’s changed in our society, and there
will be time to figure it out eventually. Right now, we need to come together
as trained professionals who, as human beings, love our fellow human beings
more than political rhetoric. Our children, our civilian population – they need
us to toss out, not the Constitution, but the political rhetoric that seems to
shut down communication, the sharing of ideas.
We need to Improvise some new rhetoric that keeps
channels of communication open, moving beyond “from my cold, dead hands!” I
don’t even know what the new rhetoric will be – that’s why they call it improv.
We need to Adapt – we don’t know with certainty
what’s caused the change in society that is wreaking this havoc on us, but we
know change has occurred, so we must adapt to that change now and not wait
until we “figure it out.” We have a situation. Children are being slaughtered,
and have been for too long in our schools, malls, neighborhoods, streets, and
homes.
We need to Overcome. No more of this. No more.
I believe the regulation and accountability we
accept as trained professionals in weapons handling is based on common sense
and common safety, and we would be irresponsible to not insist upon it for our
untrained civilian population. It’s the same irresponsibility as allowing
untrained, unlicensed electricians to wire our homes. As with anything useful
but potentially lethal, we need guidelines, standards, and accountability to
reduce risk as much as possible. In the case of guns, we’re talking about
regulation, strict accountability, and, above all, access.