Gun Control: PART 2

The last gun post ended with mentioning a needed respect for firearms which should be somewhat exponential with a handgun when the fact that it is short enough to point it at yourself is accounted for. So, why are firearms such a hot topic - Especially handguns? One could argue that it is because people are killed by them. However, the fault in this argument is that people are killed by many different things and they are not nearly as hot a topic as firearms.

Take cars for example, 43,443 people were killed in automobile related accidents (reference here) in 2005. This includes a car on pedestrian, cyclists, or anyone else that was somehow killed with something with wheels. What about knives? Knives account for nearly 1/4 of all the aggravated crime committee's weapon of choice. According to the New York Times (here)shortly after the tragedy at Virginia Tech, in 2004 29,569 people were killed by way of firearms. To be clear, this includes those folks who decided to use the weapon against themselves (suicide). In fact, according to the NY Times article, or at least using the same math that they are, 16,425 of those deaths (about 56%) were deemed suicide. That leaves 13, 144 people who were honest-to-goodness killed by a firearm. According to my calculations, that means that roughly 70% more people die in car crashes than by the "end of a barrel."

So under this premise, shouldn't we be more concerned with rounding up cars than guns? Get the cars off the streets, they are causing all the trouble! Obviously, this isn't the case but perhaps some startling statistics for some. Okay, so we have clarified that there are other things that pose much more danger to us as a species than guns but since this is a topic that is often hashed and re-hashed, let's examine the issue of gun control or more accurately - plain old control.

One person that understood the importance of gun control was Adolph Hitler, "The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let's not have any native militia or native police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order throughout the occupied Russian territories, and a system of military strong-points must be evolved to cover the entire occupied country." Adolf Hitler, dinner talk on April 11, 1942, quoted in Hitler's Table Talk 1941-44: His Private Conversations, Second Edition (1973), Pg. 425-426. Translated by Norman Cameron and R. H. Stevens.

Gun control also played a part in why we do not have Japanese as our national language. Admiral Yamamoto: "You cannot invade mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass." Advising Japan's military leaders of the futility of an invasion of the mainland United States because of the widespread availability of guns. It has been theorized that this was a major contributing factor in Japan's decision not to land on North America early in the war when they had vastly superior military strength. This delay gave our industrial infrastructure time to gear up for the conflict and was decisive in our later victory. Reference for commentary here.


So if these former adversaries understood gun control so well, why is it that we have prominent leaders of our great nation such as Ms. Feinstein spouting off comments such as, "US Senator, If I could have banned them all - 'Mr. and Mrs. America turn in your guns' - I would have!" (Statement on TV program 60 Minutes, Feb 5 1995)

Listen to what Bill Clinton had to say: "When we got organized as a country, [and] wrote a fairly radical Constitution, with a radical Bill of Rights, giving radical amounts of freedom to Americans, it was assumed that Americans who had that freedom would use it responsibly...When personal freedom is being abused, you have to move to limit it." (April 19 1994, on MTV) Here is a "citizen" (by the people, for the people) who had sworn to, above all, defend our constitution - not criticize or devalue it! In light of current economic times, there are certainly other "personal freedoms" that are being far more abused than that of the right to bear arms!

Lastly, for this segment at least, I would like to share a quote from President Theodore Roosevelt that I believe remains very much in effect in our day, "The great body of our citizens shoot less as times goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services by every means in our power. Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world... The first step – in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come – is to teach men to shoot!" – President Theodore Roosevelt's last message to Congress.
I think that I will post one more section concerning this issue at a later date. It will cover the reasoning behind owning and learning how to use a weapon. I will also include my opinion on each of the questions and/or issues presented in the now ancient poll. I hope this has been thought provoking in some way. Best of luck to all of you.