I am generally for gun control. I can't imagine a scenario where Jesus Christ might pass out swords to The Twelve. Indeed, the one instance in the gospel where a disciple acted with the sword, he was swiftly rebuked. "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword."
Obviously a sword is not a gun, nor a gun a sword, but the distinctive similarity is there - that both items are exaggerators of violence, force, and aggression. Granted, there are legitimate ways to use swords and guns (aka the military, self-defense, etc)... but even with this recognition, it should be noted that to be for gun control doesn't necessarily mean to be for the absolute exclusion of guns.
From a Christian standpoint, I can't see the link between Christianity and freedom in using guns. Certainly, the fixation between these two ideas - that Christian means being for guns - is a exclusively American idea. I'd dare say no where else in the world would you find Christians justifying convenient access to guns based on the Bible.
The gun activist must look elsewhere in his justification for liberal access to guns. The chief justification, indeed the justification that formed the Second Amendment, had to do with the Brits ousting Americans out of their homes and subjecting them to rule. There are modern parallels to this scenario, so it is a legitimate concern, more or less. Take, for example, the race riots of LA, when Korean Americans fended off mostly African American looters with the help of assault rifles and other powerful weapons. But gun control doesn't mean the absolute exclusion of guns in society; it just means introducing more accountability and responsibility in the current system of gun distribution.
So - I'm not arguing for the absolute exclusion of guns in society. I'm merely saying we ought to introduce a system of more accountability and responsibility in gun-access.
Anyway. Tylenol. Why did I mention Tylenol (or Advil or Ibuprofen). I think gun control is sort of a pain killer, a pain dampener. The real cause of violence and senseless killing will still be there, with or without gun control. Guns are the 'but for' cause of school massacres, but certainly not the only cause; a sane, emotionally-stable boy with supportive friends and a loving family doesn't go on gun rampages.
Guns are the convenient scapegoat, the exaggerator of violence, but even when they're taken away, the root cause of violence wil still be there. The mentally unhealthy young man who lives in a broken family, neglected by his father, keen to get attention and to disturb society, can still inflict violence and massacre through other means. He can make bombs, make poisons, or simply go on a knifing rampage (which is what happens in China).
Gun control will dampen the effects of his violence, dampen his potential for violence, but the violence and the root cause of violence will still be there. Sure, let's have more gun control, but let's do more than just that. Let's work on our communities, let's reach out to the hopeless, let's bring light to the darkness. We need more open discourse on mental health problems, more access to mental health resources; we need churches that are less insular, churches that actively reach out; we need to nurture stables home for which boys and girls may grow up in, promoting familial well-being in various ways.
Hmm. Excuse my rambling. Back to studying criminal law.