NEW GUN CONTROL PROPOSALS RAISE QUESTIONS

Lately in the news there have been many reports about deadly events involving the use of guns. As a result, people are, not surprisingly, calling for more gun control. This view, in and of itself, is a huge fallacy. I am baffled by the fact that the people who want to see gun control cannot seem to understand that guns don’t have brains, they aren’t sentient. Guns are a tool, and as such they require an operator, just like any other tool. I have never seen a gun take aim and discharge all by itself without any outside influence and, unless some mad scientist invents a sentient gun, nobody ever will see that.

Another point of concern for many is that lately shooting events are too racially charged. People are too busy looking at the race and occupation of the people involved. The circumstances surrounding the event are an important factor, as well.

To tell the truth, unless a person shoots someone because of that person’s skin color, race has nothing to do with it. As an example, there was a recent event where a police officer shot a person of color (Ma’Khia Bryant, in Columbus, Ohio) who was going to stab another person of color. The fact that two people involved in this event were persons of color or that the officer was white has nothing to do with it. If the case is examined in the way it ought to be, it will be plain to see that the officer acted based on the events that were unfolding. He would have done the same exact thing if the other two people were any other race, too. And yet because of incidents such as this one, people want more gun control.

Unfortunately, President Biden has responded. What follows will be my opinion on the government’s gun control plans as presented on the White House website.

The first item in the proposed White House list is that the administration plans to “stop the proliferation of ghost guns.” A ghost gun is a gun that is built privately, not registered and therefore not known to the government. Personally, I believe an action (crackdown) like this is just another attempt by the government to control the people of this nation, which is precisely the reason why people create and own these guns. If the government would stop trying to increase their control over the people, there would not be a need for such things. Unfortunately, the government at present has some looneys in the fold – more on that, below – and they are the ones that these owners are leery of. Literally the only reason the government wants to do this specific thing is because “unknown” guns create a hiccup in their ability to take guns away.

Second on the list is legislation to ban an attachment that has been referred to as an arm brace. The people pushing for these laws don’t like these braces because they help improve the accuracy of the gun user. The government would say this makes it “more deadly,” but in reality, anyone who shoots guns will strive to improve accuracy. When a person shoots a gun, they don’t just hold it up and pull the trigger, they take aim at something prior to pulling the trigger. No one in their right mind is going to grab a gun and pull the trigger, merely hoping that the bullet will go where they want it to go. Overall, the true purpose of this new ban is to make it harder to hit targets, which would also weaken the ability of the people to fight back should the government take an action they aren’t very fond of.

Another point of concern I and others have is Biden’s decision to appoint David Chipman as the director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The fact that this man, outspoken in wanting to ban assault rifles and other weapons, was selected by Biden is proof enough that no good will come from this. It would not make sense for Biden to choose someone who believes in the Constitution and knows how to handle the law, in regard to firearms.

Overall, these kinds of laws simply work to increase the government’s control over us. This is precisely the reason why a lot of people have guns. Yes, shootings happen, but a lot of people who own guns do so responsibly. Many people own guns because they fear what the government can do. They aren’t wrong, either. People freak out about guns, just because some people use them for bad reasons. This reaction is a tragedy and a horrible judgment regarding guns. The fact that some people use guns for evil does not automatically mean that anyone who owns a gun is evil. An apple tree is not cut down just because it had one bad apple.