Weaponology

Today, I’m going to take on a difficult subject. Well, it’s not really difficult, but I guess we can call it a polarizing subject. People are rarely situated in the middle of this topic as they are either adamantly for it or unabashedly against it. From the article topic, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Today we are going to talk about weapons in our society. Which side of the aisle are you on? Do you believe weapons are the creations of evil and law abiding citizens have no need for them? Or, do you believe weapons are necessary and law abiding citizens have the right to own and carry them? We are going to talk about how the world is, not how the world should be, or how the world could have been in hindsight, or how it would be in a perfect world. We are going to focus upon reality, the way things are, and the way people are.

I’m pretty sure that you have a pretty good idea where I stand on this issue if you know me or have read my articles. I am definitely not a gun fanatic by any means, but I do believe we have a right to own and carry them. Am I some kind of “NRA gun nut?” Not in any way, shape, or form. While I support the NRA, there are extremists in the group that tend to make people shy away from finding out about its true goals. The NRA is about protecting one of our most important rights, the 2^nd amendment in our Bill of Rights protected by the United States Constitution. “The right to keep and bear arms.” Our forefathers thought enough of this “right” that it is placed directly after freedom of speech. They believed it was a very important issue and created protection against the removal of it from our citizens.

After these first couple of paragraphs, I’m sure there are those of you out there already forming opinions and potentially fuming about reading another “gun loving” article. That’s not what this is about. I want everyone to take a step back, truly think about the situation, and then form a rational opinion. Our world is an unjust one. People, since the dawn of time, have been tempted and eventually have fallen into doing things they would not normally do. Criminal action isn’t the goal of people’s lives, but it is just a fact of human existence. There will always be bad people, criminals, murderers, rapists, and other people doing horrible acts against society. Yes, we have a justice system and laws to protect our society. Yes, we have police and military protection to help keep the majority of people in line. Is that enough? You may think so. I think not. If police and military protection were enough even combined with the penalties of law, we should have a crime rate of zero. We should have a murder rate of zero. We should have no need for locks on our doors, car alarms, or even vaults to house our money.

Yes, it can be taken that far. The argument against guns revolves around a simple idea. With them, people can hurt each other. Without them, they cannot. Don’t create the weapon and it can’t hurt you. Don’t own the weapon (or allow to be sold) and it can’t hurt you. I will agree that is a true statement. But, where does the argument stop? The gun is the article in question here so let’s remove it. So now we have no armed criminal action, great. That will still not cure criminal activity. Criminals exist and will choose another product to succeed in their unlawful pursuits. Remove the gun, and there are many other “weapons” that can be utilized. In the end, you can remove every single product that can be utilized as a weapon and still not succeed in “protecting” the human race. Fists, feet, and knees can be used along with your head. How do we remove that? It’s a long path to take to get from a gun to a person’s own hands, but that’s the basic fact of the matter.

Guns are not the issue here, people are the issue. The majority of our society consists of rational people. We focus on being lawful citizens and we know the consequences for doing something wrong. The consequences are usually enough of a deterrent to keep us in line if our moral and ethical makeup is not enough. Prison or jail time is a pretty strong deterrent for a rational human being. Since this is not a perfect world and we live with people without strong moral and ethical codes who are insane and irrational, there must be something to protect us on a personal level. You may believe non-lethal weaponry is the answer. Possibly, but we are falling back on a rational thinking level here for criminals. Even the criminal fears death (outside a few of the seriously insane). If you remove the one “rational” consequence of crime from their decision making, do you really think they focus much on the possibility of getting knocked out in their pursuits? Bullets hurt and carry with them the distinct possibility of death. That’s the only protection we have as individuals unless you happen to have a police officer living with you. Laws, non-lethal weaponry, and rationale will never cure the issue of bad people and the criminal action they pursue.

Our forefathers had another important reason for including the right to bear arms. By protecting our right to own weapons, each and every citizen within our society can at a moment’s notice, be part of the militia to protect our country from any potential enemy. Our country does not only rely upon our military to protect our borders, but it depends on the citizens within to help. If we remove the right to own guns, we are removing one of our most basic defenses against enemy attack and invasion. You may say the war game has changed. Man to man fighting isn’t how it will be. Possibly, nuclear war could end the argument in a split second. However, as far as I can see it, standard military warfare is still in effect and invading countries will use tactical nuclear warfare to avoid complete destruction of the country’s vast resources. We must not allow our last line of defense to be removed because we are scared of “bad” people.

Our world is not a garden of roses. We have bad people that carry with them only bad intentions. We cannot depend on our laws, police, or military to protect us. Our personal first line of defense is our own self. If we do not have the means of protection to deter the criminal, we will become nothing more than another crime statistic. Weapons, guns to be specific, are our only true self defense to those wishing harm upon us. I’m not supporting the ownership of military grade weapons by the average citizen. What exactly is military grade? I include automatic weapons (not semi-automatic), explosives, armor piercing rounds, and your standard array of artillery. Citizens don’t need those weapons for protection. We do need handguns and rifles however. If you support removal of guns from society, then I say go the extra step and remove all the locks from your house and car, remove your money from the bank and place all your cash on your table in your dining room and trust society. It’s not the gun that is the problem, it’s the people. I say to those who support gun removal the following: “Stop trying to fix the “gun problem” by hurting the lawful people and focus on the issue at the root of the problem, people.”