i am anti-gun. i'm not really all that informed about either side of the long debate, but this mainly because i find the entire idea so ridiculous that i cannot see myself justifying it with thought. it's like trying to come up with convincing arguments against racism. any scientific or logical appeal can really just be boiled down to "come on, man, really, just think about it. do you honestly think this is ok?"
so, i try to avoid the fight. but, then someone posted some vaguely pro-gun things on outsider, a forum i frequent, and i can never resist arguing on outsider. first i just outright said it was silly, then through the tired (even to me) argument of "if there are no guns, what do you need guns to protect you from?" to see what i was dealing with. they chose to point out that well, there are guns, mr. smart guy and/or criminals would still have guns. so, i decided to clarify myself a little bit and the posted ended up being really long and rant-like. i figure odds are pretty good no one will read it so i'll post it here so some more people won't read it:
i don't refer to a situation wherein all guns magically vanish. i'm talking about a long-term reorientation of american gun culture so that the idea of carrying a gun with you or keeping a loaded gun in your house is once again as shocking as it really should be.
the american public seems to have convinced themselves that guns are their worst enemies and yet the only way they can protect themselves and cite the second amendment to allow both sides to continue.
guns are not things that a typical citizen should own! they are designed for hunting and wartime! in no circumstance should any person not engaged in either of those desire to own a gun. wanting to own a gun is essentially wanting the ability to inflict major harm and death onto other people. don't give me bullshit about guns saving lives or defending you. the only circumstances where these scenarios make any sense is in some sort of wild west situation where you have to actively out-shoot people to continue to live. if you believe to be living in a country where a gun under your pillow is the only thing stopping a swarm of gun-wielding murders from killing you in your sleep, it's time to wake up. and even if it was remotely true, do you really think MORE GUNS are the answer?
and don't give me bullshit about "words kill people/hands kill people/telephones kill people/wool sweaters kill people". those things have other primary functions. a gun is designed to hurt people. that's all it can do.
fact is, the second amendment was written in a dire circumstance of wartime tension. if it was written during an invasion from mars, i'm sure the bill of rights would have probably given permission to destroy aliens, too, and stupid fucks would cite it as a reason for killing foreigners two hundred years later. the ability for citizens to be able to display militantness and literally bear arms was rightly thought to be an important thing to have in those times. but the situation has changed, the possible threats have changed, and the guns have changed. when the amendment was introduced, there were no ak47 semiautomatics. there were no silenced glock handguns. the very idea that someone could completely conceal a gun, or fire it inconspicuously, or obtain the gun cheaply and easily would be as unimaginable to them as designing our traffic laws around flying cars would be to us. there is no way of knowing how the authors of the amendment would feel about the radically different "rights" the bill now "promises", so why no err on the side of all rational and compassion and say that they probably wouldn't like it?
i'm sorry to rant, but the fact that any american can walk into a store to purchase a gun and the burden of proof lies on the government to stop them i find as shockingly appalling and horrifying as the idea of genocide overseas.
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