With recent tragedy fresh in mind, I thought I\u2019d share my feelings on guns, and the touchy subject of gun control.\u00a0 First, a little background about me.\u00a0 I\u2019m proud to be a naturalized Citizen of the USA.\u00a0 Before gaining that status, I occupied limbo \u2013 holding the unenviable state, of being stateless.\u00a0 You see, I left the country of my birth a very long time ago \u2013 Zimbabwe, is most reluctant to renew the documents of non-residents, five generations\u2026 for nothing.\u00a0 Does any of this matter?\u00a0 Good question, my answers follow.<\/p>\n
On freedom\u2019s scale, Zimbabwe must rate as one of the worst.\u00a0 Most of the things the Zimbabwe Government holds dear are anathema to me.\u00a0 For example, rampant censorship, absolute control of all media, zero freedom of speech, and complete gun control. \u00a0{About now you\u2019re thinking you know my stance, read on \u2013 I may yet surprise you.}<\/p>\n
Contrast Zimbabwe to the USA, and you realize we live in a virtual paradise \u2013 least in my mind we do.\u00a0 In the USA, the very idea of censorship is abhorrent to most people.\u00a0 The United States Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the right to bear arms. \u00a0{Now, you\u2019re positive you know where this leads \u2013 again, I say read on.}<\/p>\n
As a former citizen of a country with virtually no civil liberties, I hold civil liberty in high esteem.\u00a0 Indeed, as a naturalized Citizen of the USA, I have little doubt I treasure my newfound freedom far more than most born in the US Americans \u2013 few of whom have had to live beneath tyranny\u2019s oppressive fist.\u00a0 Every time I see something erode civil liberty within the USA, my heart sinks \u2013 seldom regained, are liberties lost.\u00a0 {I knew it, I hear you say\u2026 you\u2019re wrong.}<\/p>\n
To me, government has a single purpose \u2013 service to its citizens.<\/p>\n
Now contrast my abhorrence of erosion of civil liberty, which gun control most definitely is, with my belief that a government is obliged to protect its citizens \u2013 finally, the quandary reveals itself.<\/p>\n
Though this is a clich\u00e9, it is also undeniably true \u2013 \u201cGuns don\u2019t kill people, people kill people<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d \u00a0Without a person operating it, a gun does nothing.\u00a0 This is the real issue, and we shouldn\u2019t allow ourselves to be distracted from it with emotional rhetoric.<\/p>\n People in the USA kill other people \u2013 and it seems their preferred means of achieving this, is with a gun.\u00a0 While we can legislate away guns, we can\u2019t legislate away insanity.<\/p>\n To me, that\u2019s the real crux of the matter \u2013 insane people using guns against innocents.\u00a0 With the actual problem identified, it seems the solution to the problem is very simple.\u00a0 Keep guns out of the hands of those people who should not have them.\u00a0 In my mind, there are two types of \u201cthose people<\/i>\u201d \u2013 there are criminals, and there are the mentally unstable.\u00a0 Neither should be permitted to possess firearms.\u00a0 Period.<\/p>\n In the case of the criminals, this is a no-brainer.\u00a0 Since they choose to step outside the law, they relinquish their right to certain of its protections, and certain of its privileges.\u00a0 Indeed, criminals used to be termed outlaws.\u00a0 Outlaws, or criminals if you prefer, have no business possessing firearms.\u00a0 Once someone becomes a convicted criminal, they never have the pleasure of owning a firearm again \u2013 no excuses, no rehabilitation, no parole\u2026 the end.<\/p>\n The question of mental instability is far more difficult.\u00a0 Identifying mentally unstable people is complex \u2013 it will require unpopular laws that could impinge on civil liberty, without extreme care and oversight by the citizenry.\u00a0 However, once identified, unstable individuals shouldn\u2019t be permitted to possess weapons with which they have the potential to hurt themselves, or others.<\/p>\n In summary, laws impinging on the Constitutional right to bear arms do nothing to solve the real problem.\u00a0 Remember what the real problem is and has always been \u2013 guns in the hands of the irresponsible.\u00a0 That is where our legislative efforts should be focused \u2013 eliminating the possibility of irresponsible people possessing firearms.\u00a0 Gun control\u2026\u00a0 I\u2019m all for it, if it\u2019s handled in that fashion.<\/p>\n