NATIONAL: Guns in America- A Necessary Evil?
This week brought on an all to familiar sight. Â The President of the United States being introduced by a family member intimately affected by gun violence in America. However, this time Mr. Obama did not take on the role of âconsoler-in-chiefâ he has had to assume so many times during the course of his administration, it has become part of our lexicon. Instead he put forth a series of Executive Orders intended to chip away at the various loopholes in previously passed gun legislation.
Unfortunately for Mr. Obama, Executive Orders are binding only so long as he, or someone who shares his view on this issue, holds the Office. He has made the political calculation, rightly in my view, that this Republican led congress, backed by the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill, the NRA, will remain recalcitrant on any changes to existing gun legislation. After the mass shooting on December 14th, 2012 in which twenty first graders and six staff members were massacred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) put forward new legislation in early 2013.With the country visibly shaken subsequent to this horrific event, and rare bi-partisan legislation emerging from the Senate attempting to close the âgun show loophole,â among other modest measures with overwhelming public support, the NRA and their supporters on Capitol Hill successfully defeated their legislation. To this day, and what most likely brought about the Presidentâs unilateral action, he considers it his most regrettable defeat.
It would be wise to remember that the National Rifle Association not only lobbies for its members, but gun manufacturers themselves. The truth is, after every mass shooting, terrorist attack, Executive Action, or even proposed legislative action, gun sales go up. The founders and drafters of the 2nd amendment could never imagine the ubiquitous semi-automatic or automatic rifle, let alone a repeating handgun. This was the time of black powder and muskets. However, they did have first hand experience with absolute power in the hands of one person, tyranny and lack of representation. As we have seen throughout history from King George to Adolf Hitler, absolute power in the hands of one person inevitably leads to absolute tyranny.Â
As can be found in the writings of our founding fathers, the right of the individual to keep and bear arms is yet another check upon the power of the state. The separation of powers, creating three co-equal branches of the federal government, was the perhaps the most insightful bedrock upon which our Constitution was built. The second amendment is not about hunting, it is yet another, unfortunate, yet necessary check on the power of the state.Â
No right is absolute. There are reasonable limits on the first amendment, and there can and should be reasonable limits on the second amendment as well. However, if Mr. Obama can unilaterally decide that he wants to limit the second amendment, what if the next commander-in-chief decides he wants to limit the 1st or 4th amendment. If the second amendment is so antiquated in the age of AR-15â˛s, then the only solution is to convene a constitutional convention and to either amend or repeal it outright.Â
This will never happen. Regardless of the polls, the DNA of America is to mistrust the government. History and contemporary examples show what happens when too much power rests in the seat of government. If one watches television, one would think that gun violence is at an all time high, but the latest FBI statistics show a near 50% reduction in gun deaths, and roughly half of those are suicides.
While this issue has gained national notoriety in the midst of a presidential election, Chicagoâs disgraceful murder rate, and it appears employees cannot enjoy a holiday party at their workplace without being summarily massacred by terrorists. At this very hour, ISIL is inspiring and perhaps coordinating attacks against the West. Short of a constitutional convention repealing the second amendment (and possibly causing a civil war) or a new interpretation by the Supreme Court that contradicts United States v. Heller, guns will continue to be a necessary evil in the United States.
