Newtown...gun control thoughts several weeks later

January 23, 2013

Gun control...weeks later as emotions calm

I just re-read the article I wrote immediately after the Newtown tragedy. Clearly the stress I felt was reflected in some of my conclusions. Add the noise from the national media and our politicians, and you have the perfect environment for knee-jerk reactions. It is human nature to react to such events emotionally, and I believe this is why Rahm Emanuel once said, “you never want a crisis to go to waste”.

I now believe any solutions considered should totally focus on the criminal and deranged who commit these horrible crimes; and not reductions in the Constitutional rights of honest citizens to protect themselves and their families. Perhaps even more importantly, our citizens to protect We The People from a rogue government.

I've had a concealed weapon permit and carried a handgun in my car for many years. I do so in order to protect my family from the truly evil people who exist in our society. Over the years, I have spoken to many law enforcement officers about private citizen's 2^nd Amendment rights. All of them not only agreed with that right, most saw it as a personal responsibility.

Many years ago, while living in Oklahoma, my wife and I had a scare which reinforced and rewarded my motivation to own and carry a gun. We often took long back-road drives to enjoy the peaceful scenery. One day, driving on a narrow country road in the rural Western part of the state, we passed an older pickup with two young males driving slowly in the opposite direction. I watched with growing discomfort as their truck did a U-turn and immediately pulled up on our rear bumper. They started honking their horn and waving for us to pull over. I sped up, but they only became more aggressive. Fearing they would attempt to run us off of the road, I removed my handgun from the console and held it up in clear view of my rear window. These thugs immediately slammed on their brakes, did another U-turn, and sped away. I have absolutely no doubt we would have come to harm that day if we had not had this tool for self protection. 

We see daily news of violent crimes against innocent people. As much as we might wish it weren't so...evil and crazy people do exist. Hoping these bad guys won't cross your path offers zero protection. Honest people must have the ability to actually protect themselves when the need arises.

Look at England; Bobbies (police) only began carrying firearms and wearing body armor after private gun ownership was banned a few years ago. In Australia, violent crimes have increased following the tightening of regulations for privately owned firearms. Criminals are evil...that’s why they commit crimes. Provide them with an advantage over their victims...and guess who loses?

Beyond this personal protection aspect, world history shows many governments have killed incredible numbers of their own citizens. In the past century alone, the despotic leaders in Russia, Germany, China, and Cambodia murdered over a hundred million of their citizens. In every case the innocent victims had few weapons to defend themselves with...and they paid the ultimate price. Imagine standing by helplessly as you watched everyone you loved being slaughtered!

According to biblical legend, Cain became the first human murderer when he killed his brother Abel. Since then our willingness to kill other humans has continued unabated. It's the ultimate negative side-effect of mankind’s God-given ability to choose right or wrong. 

Don’t ever forget the human freedom to do such ultimate wrong also applies to those we elect. Remember when Hitler was duly elected to govern Germany? If such an evil person were ever elected in America, our citizen's right to own arms may be the only barrier preventing another government's extermination of its own people. It is simply naive to hope it won't happen!

It is clear to me, the 2nd Amendment creators primary motivation was the hope individual gun ownership might prevent a tyrannical government in America. This is why We The People must never allow that right to be taken away. Of course, that also suggests citizens should be allowed weapons similar to those used by the government itself. We should never ban assault style weapons. After all, if we are going to actually reduce the risk of a rogue leader...any potential despot must see us as a realistic threat. 

We must identify our mentally ill and provided them with adequate treatment. We must prevent them from buying guns and their care-givers must keep weapons locked safely away. Lawmakers must make sure firearm ownership and usage by criminals is severely penalized. And we must protect our children from the constant bombardment of violence.

Focus on controlling the evil and insane. Firearms are tools, human beings are the killers!

Personally, I will never accept being unable to protect my loved ones from bad people. If you are ever confronted with your own version of my Oklahoma experience, how will you protect yourself and your family?

These are my evolved opinions. What do you think?

Mike Tower

Please take time to visit the blog of a good pal:  Lee's Political Opinions, and also the website for an organization he and I co-founded:  Citizens Against Politics As Usual