Jon Holato

My apologies for the crickets around here lately, I’ve been adjusting to a new travel schedule at work and writing time hasn’t been much of a commodity. That said, as you are undoubtedly aware it is primary season for the 2008 presidential election, and anyone who has spoken with me recently knows that I am way caught up into the mix of things. What I want to address today is the issue of gun control and gun ownership; more specifically, some misconceptions associated with this contentious issue.

Straight out of the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, the second amendment reads as follows:

“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.”

There can be no denying — and there really hasn’t been — the rights of Americans to own guns under the Constitution. Where the debate arises is whether having these guns in homes around the country provides for a more dangerous, crime-laden society. It is here where the partisan card comes into play.

Democrats would say yes, guns make society more dangerous for everyone, and they should be outlawed. Republicans would say it’s not the guns it’s the people using them, and we have a right to own them you can’t take them away. Now, I’m not here to try to convert anyone’s political views, but let’s at least consider why the founding fathers gave us the right to bare arms.

America was a dangerous time back in the late 1700s, with the revolutionary war and fighting the Indians, but that’s not why we were allowed to own guns. Americans were fighting a war for independence from a tyrannical British government, and when they got it they didn’t want to have to fight a future one against more tyranny.

So, the ability of Americans to own guns comes from the need to prevent a ruling, tyrannical class from emerging. The right to bare arms means that Americans always have the ability to take back their government from a ruling elite, by force if necessary. Citizen gun ownership protects civilians from malicious governments intent on eliminating freedom.

One of the first things Hitler did in Germany was take away the guns from citizens so that they couldn’t rise up against him. And the Soviets, one of the first acts they would do when spreading their communism was take away guns from the local population. And we know what happened to these societies once they lost their guns.

So, whether you think guns lead to a violent society or not, gun ownership is a vital part of American freedom because it gives people the capacity to take back their government when it has gone too far.

Also, of note to fervent anti-gun individuals, consider this case study, in which a town that banned guns saw an immediate crime increase of 15% and decreased population over 25 years, whereas a town that mandated guns for all households has not had a single fatal shooting in the 25 years since the law was passed and has seen a boom in population.