The right to bear arms is one of the most important parts of America’s constitution. One of the first things that dictators throughout history have done is disarm their people. More wrongs have been committed in the past century than in the entire history of the world, and most of them were committed by governments. You can say, “Oh, not in America!”, but the 2A is our final insurance when everything else fails. Additionally, everyone has a right to personal protection, not just politicians who somehow get armed bodyguards in places that ban guns. Regardless of the laws of the land, I have a God-given right to defend my family, but I am grateful to live in a country where the constitution ensures this right.

In addition, shooting firearms is just good plain fun! It’s like playing a video game, only shooting targets at the range uses real ammunition, requires physical control, and gets a person outdoors. Many people are unsure on their position about firearms only because they know so little about them. A quick trip to the range with a buddy will quickly dispel fears and help people understand firearms better. My wife was against handguns until she took a class on them. Knowledge dispelled her fears. My kids have all been taught correct firearms use and are not afraid of guns. And, ‘’since they’ve handled many guns, they have little interest in them outside of the range”. I am quite sure that if they found a firearm at a friend’s house, they’d immediately tell an adult because they’ve already satisfied their curiosity with me at the range. You’d be surprised at how well they hit targets with the .22 long rifle.

I have a couple of hunting guns and also handguns (a 9mm XD and a Rohrbaugh R9). One of these days I’ll get an AR-15 or something like it. Do I carry a firearm everywhere? Of course not. Do I think everyone should carry a firearm? No. I believe people should have the right to carry when they feel the need. It’s a very real part of what makes us American–all the way back to the revolutionary war.

Arguments

Some readers may think that the Second Ammendment (2A) is about hunting. Nothing could be further from the truth. Do you really think the Founding Fathers felt so strongly about their hunting hobby that they put it second in the Bill of Rights? In reality, they had just fought a war with their own firearms against a powerful king and army. They wanted to be sure the right they had just exercised would continue to future generations. The 2A is our last right when all others have failed. See my post titled Ammendment != Hunting] for more information on this subject. It is also our protection. It’s said that a Japanese general stated the Japanese didn’t invade the Western USA during WWII because they’d find a rifle and citizen behind every rock on the mainland.

Other readers may feel that guns are the cause of many murders, rapes, and other terrible things. Certainly, guns are used by some very bad people to do very bad things. We also give out drivers’ licenses like candy in America, and even though some people intentionally run over pedestrians, we don’t take cars away from the populace. Consider the Virginia Tech shooting case for a moment: the shooter didn’t wake up and say ””I’d like to test out my guns today, perhaps I’ll go shooting at the local university.”” He said, ””I’m mad a society and want to kill people.”” If guns had not been available to him, he would have looked up countless web sites on bomb making or on whatever and used those tools instead. It was not about the guns to him. It was about killing.

Some might say that while both cars and guns can kill people, cars have a legitimate use while guns do not. Guns have one purpose, they say, “to kill things”. I don’t disagree with the purpose of guns, but I definitely disagree that guns have no legitimate use. They were certainly useful to those who rose up against a British king and gave us our rights, and they are certainly useful today for self-protection. Nothing else, including martial arts, swords, tasers, and pepper spray, comes close to the defense ability of a gun. I say this as a black belt in one form and brown belt in another form of karate. All modern bodyguards, from military to private, rely heavily on firearms to protect. Guns allow protection at a distance; guns can be used with significantly less training than martial arts; most importantly, guns allow a 100 pound person to defend against a 250 pound muscle man. Everywhere in nature, the strong dominate the weak. Throughout human history, the same occurred; the weak cowered to the strong. Modern firearms changes this classic, discriminating arrangement. Size matters less today because we can defend with powerful, equalizing weapons.

People often ask how we’ll be able to tell the good guys from the bad guys if enough people start carrying firearms. When everyone starts shooting, how can the Police or citizens tell who is who? My answer is that the situation is no different from a police car chase, where a criminal is trying to make a getaway with the police on his bumper. Most people have no problem distinguishing the out of control, speeding car from the rest of the cars trying to get out of its way. In a shooting situation, everyone is not shooting. The responsible citizens are the ones hiding with the rest of the people and using their weapons for protection only. The wacked-out shooter is the one shooting constantly, moving towards the fight (rather than away from it), and generally going out of control. Just like the car speeding through traffic away in a police chase, I don’t think it would be difficult to tell who is who.

“Gun Free Zones” are a misnomer. They would be better termed “victim disarmament zones”. Every shooting I know of happened in a gun free zone. Who of you would post a sign outside your house informing potential bad guys that your house is a “Gun Free Zone: No Firearms Inside”. I’m sure burglars would obey the sign and find another house that allowed their firearms (and that might have a gun-toting citizen waiting for them inside), right? :) The next time you enter a “Gun Free Zone”, think about the steps the place is taking to ensure your safety. Does it have airport-type security (metal detectors, pat downs, etc.) to ensure that everyone obeys the sign? Probably not, which means it only applies to citizens willing to obey the law. And those willing to obey the law weren’t the ones we needed to worry about in the first place.

As an academic, I believe in letting data speak for themselves. Many research studies and data points have been collected over the last 20 years. The data are almost totally one sided in support of gun rights rather than control. It bothers me to no end that policy makers ignore this when making their decisions. Laws about guns are usually based on emotions rather than rational, data-supported thinking. When you see media articles for or against guns, read them carefully to see whether they are data-based or not.

Respecting Rights

With all of the above said, I support the rights of private property owners to make their own decisions. If your workplace or school does not allow firearms, you should respect their rules (or find another job or school). In particular, I do not condone bringing guns to BYU campus because it is a private university. Just like gun ownership, private property rights are a very real part of what makes us American.

Links

  • http://www.a-human-right.com/introduction.html – Good graphics and arguments.
  • http://www.corneredcat.com/ – For the ladies, but good for the men as well.
  • http://www.thehighroad.org/ – A nationwide forum on firearms.
  • http://www.gunvault.com/ – This is a must for anyone with handguns in the house. It will keep your little ones out of your firearms while still letting you get to them within a second or so. This is the most popular company, but there are others as well.