Guns are not the problem, we are
In a nation of waning ethics and lack of morals, stricter laws will not eliminate unjust deaths
Where were you when the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Conn. happened? I imagine most people reading this were doing something close to what I was doing, savoring the first few days of a month of freedom from school. I was at Myrtle Beach, enjoying the beginning of my Christmas break, when I heard of the tragedy.
Control — The people behind the weapons, not the weapons themselves, should be scrutinized. Mike Sarchang, Creative Commons
You knew soon after the misfortune, when President Barack Obama stated that “these tragedies must end, and to end them we must change,” that action would follow.
Wednesday, Jan. 16, it came. Obama presented guidelines for 23 executive actions to crack down on background checks, licensing and mental health requirements for future firearm purchasers. The new laws will change the way the average person and the hunter go about buying guns.
I am as avid of a gun supporter as they come. I have hunted with my father since I was 5 and had the rules of gun safety pounded in my head from the onset. I can still hear my father’s voice every time I pick up a gun, saying, “Don’t ever point it at anything except the ground or the animal you plan on shooting.” Even if I am hunting alone, I still hear him saying, “Is your finger on the trigger or the safety?”
I do not agree with all, if not most, of the changes, but there are some understandable ones. Even I will say that some of these actions, such as the elimination of the loophole that allows people to purchase guns at gun shows sold by unlicensed dealers, and in almost all states without any proof of identification or background checks, are a good move.
Gun control, as a whole, is not the answer — but neither are more guns.
Want to know why? Guns did not create this issue, and they certainly are not the focal point of this problem in America.
The problem is that we are numb to violence. Our culture bathes us in it, and as a result, the value we place on human life slowly trickles away.
Recently, the Parent Television Council found that there are 4.41 instances of violence per hour of prime time television. In a 2008 study, appropriately named “Comfortably Numb,” researchers from the University of Michigan and Iowa State University found that college age students who watched violent movies or played violent video games were less likely to take real life violence around them seriously.
Do not get me wrong, I am not the person who thinks that video games or movies make you a murderer or that these activities should serve as a scapegoat. However, when we expose ourselves to violence, perhaps even with the innocent intention of watching the local news, it begins to numb our senses.
It does not take a genius to see that our morals, in general, are fading fast as well. Last year, Pew Research found that those who identified themselves as “Christian” had fallen five percentage points in only five years, while those professing “no faith” had consequently risen five percent.
The trend of births to unmarried couples is also on the rise, with the National Center for Health Statistics stating that 40 percent of newborns are to unwed mothers. Many times, these children grow up without a strong family support system or a father figure, a consistent characteristic of the ever-growing list of shooters in these mass murder cases.
Are we not angry enough to make a difference?
Sure, when we heard the news, we were hurt. Most of us were even mad enough to dedicate a few of our status updates on Facebook to the crisis. But let us be real, most of us did not call or email our local government officials asking how we could help. Most of us did not donate money to the school or families involved. If I could check, I am curious to know if many of us even stopped our busy schedules to take time to pray the moment we heard the news.
Instead, we politicize these problems. We draw partisan lines that are too thick for us to see past. We create issues that perhaps do not even exist.
Rather than point fingers, perhaps we could take a lesson from God. In Galatians 6, we are commanded to “reach out to those who are oppressed.” Paul tells us to “help the weak” in Acts 20. How many times are we commanded to love our brother?
The people who commit these types of heinous crimes are too often the people we leave sitting in the corner alone to fester. I find it hard to believe that if the Christians around these shooters had treated them like brothers, that they would not have at least seen warning signs to prevent these crimes.
I am not saying that if we do our moral duty as Christians — or merely human beings for that matter — that the shootings at Sandy Hook or Aurora would not have happened, but the odds would be much lower.
We cannot keep closing our eyes to those around us who need it most. We cannot become numb to the violence that seems to surround us. Our country and fellow countrymen deserve better. Those children and teachers deserved better.
We can do better — but do not trick yourself into thinking that laws will make that happen.
Guns ARE the problem!!!
The more guns, the more gun violence.
Itus really simple – and proven by statistics.
Not only that, you can have a gun at all times and it will nothing to stop someone from shooting you.
Moslems are one problem. Their satanic Koran commands those evildoers devil worshippers to kill and enslave all non Moslems. Ban the Moslems and you will cut down on all that. The tool is just the tool. Gun knife hammer saw rope etc. People with a history of violent mental illness should be banned from having firearms. Armed trained responsible civilians can cut down on violent attackers.
Wrong. A gun is merely a means and even if you take it away, it’s merely trimming a thorn bush that will grow back. If another human is really committed to wanting you dead, they will use knives, fists, hire/blackmail someone else, do anything to make sure it happens. They might even assault you in broad daylight. The real source of the issue is poor mental health (which is the result of abuse, grooming, bullying, neglect-so many factors), societal flaws, and the natural human condition for evil. That’s why I agree with most common sense gun laws except actual prohibitions. You couldn’t solve anything by banning alcohol, you wouldn’t be able to solve anything with guns.
The problem is criminal behavior. The gun doesn’t shoot people. Get some help with your thinking. Are you going to outlaw knives if someone kills with a knife? You need some help.
A gun cannot do anything until a person picks it up. It is an inannimate object, merely a weapon. People have always used weapons to kill. Humans are the constant in this and their desire to kill is the real problem. Are we concerned with deaths or the use of the gun to commit deaths? Blaming guns is an example of our inability to address root causes. It is amazing how when certain people in this country commit offenses it is everybody or everyting elses fault except theirs. Listen, guns are the prefered weapon until we invent a new type of weapon. Notice I said we, as in humans. The cat (guns) is out of the bag and is not going back in. They are man made objects that can be made and remade. So unless you can erase the concept of a gun from the planet, work on correcting the person and you’ll decrease not only gun violence but all other violence.