“Here come the clowns” as Frank Sinatra wrote many years ago, but can aptly apply to the behavior of multiple members of the US House of Representatives. One of the most recent actions by the clowns has been the introduction of the AR 15 National Gun Act to, specifically, make this fireman the official gun for the country. It was developed in the 1950s as a military rifle and by 2019 over 15 million of these weapons had been sold in this country. The bill has been crafted and introduced by one of the stalwarts of the sitting clowns, Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama. To add to the questionable credibility of the intent of this legislation it should be noted that Rep George Santos of New York has signed on as a cosponsor as has Rep Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Rep Andrew Clyde of Georgia. Clyde is the Congressman who referred to the insurrectionists as simply a group of tourists as they ransacked the capitol on that fateful January 6th day of infamy. These individuals, along with many of their colleagues, drag out the constitution to attempt to make their point. The introduction of this bill is just one more attempt for a certain segment of the population to impose their will on all citizens.
Indeed, the Second Amendment does state that:, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” As one reflects on what was happening in this fledging country in 1791, the need for such an amendment was a necessary reality. Do keep in mind that those who had come to the new country were fleeing religious and political persecution and had the need to protect themselves and others. Moving up to the present day, we do not have the need for a militia nor are there any recognizable state militias. There are existing entities within law enforcement and the military to meet the needs of this sovereign county that were absent in the country’s infancy. Certainly, an individual has the right to own a gun for the purpose of protection, but as we witness every day, guns have become the action of choice to solve disputes and differences. Recently, a member of the University of Alabama basketball team was involved in a shooting that left a young woman dead. How did an altercation between a couple of individuals rise to the level that involved the use of a gun? That student along with the shooter have been charged with capital murder and are sitting in the local jail awaiting further judicial action. As a result of such inexcusable and inane behavior, lives are changed forever.
We are all too familiar with the mass shootings that have occurred in the past few years. It is as if we are becoming immune to reacting to these events because they are so frequent. According to the Insider there were 647 mass shootings in 2022 leading to the death of 44,000 people due to gun violence. Grasp the magnitude of this number. Thousands upon thousands of individuals are no longer coming home, raising their children, starting a family or engaging in any activity that can only be carried out by those of us who are still alive. These shootings have occurred in schools, malls, businesses, churches, parks, and anywhere that people are gathered. No area of the country or size of the population makes a difference where such actions occur. Are we safe anywhere?
The mentality that we must make it easier to own and carry a weapon is, in my judgment, farcical. In the past year, the legislature in Alabama passed a law and the current governor signed it that allows an individual to purchase a gun without obtaining a permit to own the gun. The net effect of this legislation is that there are no safeguards to controlling who gets a weapon. The state also allows individuals to avoid concealing the gun so they can carry it outside of their clothing. This all gives the appearance and the reality of returning to the old west when disputes were handled down at the OK Corral between gunslingers. According to a recent article the United States has 120.5 firearms per 100 residents which makes this the country having more civilian-owned firearms than people. A 2018 report by the Small Arms Survey found that there were 393.3 million weapons in the US and at that time the population was 330 million. This is scary.
How has our society gotten to this point that guns have become the equalizer. I can recall growing up in the 1950s when kids would have differences, they would settle the difference by a fight and then it was over. Today, a gun comes out and the other person responds by also pulling out a gun. Why have we deteriorated to this level of baseless behavior? In the aforementioned incident with the basketball player, he texted another member of the team to bring him his gun which, unbeknown by the car owner, he had left in the back seat of the car. The ease with which guns can be purchased and carried heightens the probability that they will be used. If you do not have a gun readily available, then you cannot use it, but that’s not the way it is today. As a society, we have seemingly resorted to a barbaric resolution to disputes and differences. What will it take to stem this depraved approach? If there is going to be any resolution it will need to require gaining some control of who can purchase a weapon, what kind of weapon can be purchased, where should the weapon be carried, and other regulatory actions that bring a semblance of sanity to an insane atmosphere.