ProphetOfTruth
Active member
Personally, I think much of the problem owes to our nation's fetishization of guns.
I don't personally own one, but I've fired them on a number of occasions and I'm content to know that, should I feel the need to buy one, I can do so readily here in the States.
That said, I can attest anecdotally that within my family, friend, and peer group here in the South, there is a queer idolization of the firearm. On a good day, I find it generally perplexing; on a bad day, I find it deeply unsettling.
The bottom line for me is that if you own firearms, you're morally obligated (and legally obligated) to behave with an exceptional level of responsibility in both your physical handling of them and even your advocacy for their use and ownership.
They're a tool and no more worthy of glorification than a goddamn screwdriver or hammer are.
Personally, I'd like to see universal background checks, licensure, and registration. The state evaluates people's ability to drive cars, I genuinely don't see why we shouldn't consider doing the same for weapons explicitly designed to critically harm and take life.
Furthermore, while I respect and acknowledge that the Second Amendment exists, I don't regard it as some sort of sacred cow as some do; no right is absolute in the United States. Your right to speech, liberty, and even life are constrained under US law. Why on earth would your right to own firearms be any different? I support the state's right to impose reasonable restrictions on a citizen's right to own firearms.
That said, I will also say I saw an interesting clip on Bill Maher recently with Killer Mike, whom I'd never heard of previously but am deeply grateful for having discovered now:
Killer Mike, an outspoken and informed progressive, argues that red flag laws would likely have a deleterious effect on black citizens' right to own firearms.
It was a consideration I'd honestly never made before and has given me pause on that aspect of gun control.
I don't personally own one, but I've fired them on a number of occasions and I'm content to know that, should I feel the need to buy one, I can do so readily here in the States.
That said, I can attest anecdotally that within my family, friend, and peer group here in the South, there is a queer idolization of the firearm. On a good day, I find it generally perplexing; on a bad day, I find it deeply unsettling.
The bottom line for me is that if you own firearms, you're morally obligated (and legally obligated) to behave with an exceptional level of responsibility in both your physical handling of them and even your advocacy for their use and ownership.
They're a tool and no more worthy of glorification than a goddamn screwdriver or hammer are.
Personally, I'd like to see universal background checks, licensure, and registration. The state evaluates people's ability to drive cars, I genuinely don't see why we shouldn't consider doing the same for weapons explicitly designed to critically harm and take life.
Furthermore, while I respect and acknowledge that the Second Amendment exists, I don't regard it as some sort of sacred cow as some do; no right is absolute in the United States. Your right to speech, liberty, and even life are constrained under US law. Why on earth would your right to own firearms be any different? I support the state's right to impose reasonable restrictions on a citizen's right to own firearms.
That said, I will also say I saw an interesting clip on Bill Maher recently with Killer Mike, whom I'd never heard of previously but am deeply grateful for having discovered now:
Killer Mike, an outspoken and informed progressive, argues that red flag laws would likely have a deleterious effect on black citizens' right to own firearms.
It was a consideration I'd honestly never made before and has given me pause on that aspect of gun control.