GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE, IRRATIONAL LOGIC KILLS PEOPLE

Occasionally, I get into a little debate with my good friend and fellow blogger, Andre. Lately, we've been goin' at it over guns. That's not a problem, Andre and me both know how to respectfully disagree. That's not to say that we don't throw our full weight behind what we think is right. Andre see things from the prospective of someone that has only seen guns used for killing, robbing and threatening. I, on the other hand, am exposed to people being far more responsible. Most of what I see is hunters and well-trained gun enthusiasts. Since I have never compiled what I believe are the true facts about guns into one post, I thought this would be a good opportunity.

The history of guns in America goes all the way back to the very first settlers. While England allowed the settlers to have some guns, they damn sure didn't want a well-armed insurgency on their hands. For that reason, gun manufacturing was not allowed. When the Founding Fathers decided to break away from England and gain their own independence, getting more guns was high on their list of important steps. For this reason, my hero Ben Franklin went to France to enlist the support of King Louis XVI who brought over the guns necessary for us to free ourselves. The Founding Fathers were well aware that guns were kept from them to keep them subservient. For that reason, they saw fit to enshrine the possession of guns into what we now know as the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

Many years and changes have happened since that wondrous time. Slowly, with the help of people who fear guns, our attitudes have turned against guns. With that movement has come a lot of hyperbole on both sides of the argument. In an effort to clear up some of that misconception (IMO), here are some of my best arguments for keeping guns in the hands of capable and law-abiding people.

Since 1986, the number of states allowing people the "Right to Carry" a firearm has blossomed. From it's early inception, the movement has managed to turn nearly every state into a "Shall Issue" state. Meaning that if you want to be able to carry a handgun on your person, the state "shall issue" that permit unless you are deemed unworthy. Despite irrational claims by the anti-gun crowd that we would all end up shooting each other, each and every state has seen a drop in crime after Shall Issue was implemented. In fact all crime, including suicide has declined.

The left in this country tries desperately to convince people that the proliferation of guns by legal means is causing all the gun violence. They even go so far as to site the "gun show loophole" (which accounts for less than 1% of guns used in capital crimes) as a main means of trafficking guns into the hands of criminals. Nothing could be further from the truth. The guns used in crimes, particularly capital crimes, are mostly illegal guns that were purchased illegally. That's probably contrary to what you've heard either from your Liberal media or your Liberal professor or teacher. The truth is, there are a lot of anti-gun sites and radical pro-gun sites out there and good research is hard to find. Most of those anti-gun sites center on incidents and not on facts. They want to play to your emotions rather than to your logic. Here is the best research I've ever been able to find. It shows that over 78% of guns used in violent crimes were purchased illegally. The research was done by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics and if you look at the date it was published, you'll notice it was compiled during the Clinton Administration. Arguably the most anti-gun administration in U.S. history.

Guns are used every single day in this country to protect life and property. Most of the time it is not even reported. I know this to be true because I have, myself, used a gun to stop a crime. And I never reported it. I was working late at a liquor store in Flint (already a bad idea) and to make a long story short, three young men came in and attempted to rob me. I became suspicious when two young men came in and appeared to be "casing the joint". When they left, I saw three different men get out of the same car and make their way toward the store. I grabbed a .32 caliber handgun the owner had under the counter, and when one of them reached for his gun (I saw it in his pants under his coat) I beat him to the punch and demanded they leave the store. Since I wasn't certified to have the gun, I figured I had better leave well enough alone. Stories like that are buried by our MSM on D-12 or on the Police Blotter and very few people ever see them. However, the NRA compiles them in their monthly magazines under the heading "The Armed Citizen". Click on the link and then type "gun" for the keyword and then enter your state. Since a lot of you will dismiss the NRA as a unreliable source (and you should always be sceptical), take the time to research each story using the source and the date. I did and came up with the story nearly every time (some sources weren't archived very well). As a little more proof. As I'm writing this piece, the news is reporting on a 72-year-old man who shot 4 thugs who attempted to rob his store and pistol-whipped one of his employees. Like I said-it happens every day.

The U.S. of A. is one of the most heavily armed countries in the world, and for me to pretend that we don't have a problem with gun violence would be disingenuous. What I'm trying to say here is that the problem isn't the gun-it's our culture. Since our beginning, everyone has had a gun and it was never a major problem. It was only within the past few decades that it became one. The devaluing of life, the absence of any structure or discipline in our families, mass media that glorifies killing, particularly with African Americans, are the most likely culprits. We can't really have a gun problem in America. A gun is, after all, an inanimate object, incapable of doing damage on it's own. What we do have is a irrational logic problem. Too many people believe a gun gives them power, will cure their problems and will get them respect. To believe that, I believe, is irrational. Especially when those that use a gun disrespectfully, almost always end up dead. And that doesn't give you power, doesn't cure your problems, and damn sure won't get you respect, particularly from me. H.C.