US gun control? Dream on!

Since the mindless shooting spree at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut last week, there has been a lot of predictable banter over America's infatuation with guns and the need for more control over them.

 

I say banter because gun control discussion is predictably heightened whenever there is a shooting. To date, nothing meaningful has been done and I seriously doubt the Sandy Hook incident will result in positive and enforceable legislation.

 

Like everything else in American life, gun control is a highly politicized issue that roughly breaks down between the libertarian attitudes of the right and the anal retentive viewpoint of the left. The former constantly make the inane statement that guns don't kill people; people do.

 

 

The left's position is, like everything else bearing their fingerprints, to control the hell out guns. To date, the only palpable result of this debate has been a tremendous surge in the purchase of guns and ammunition,.

 

The left dreadfully misses the point about the use of weapons in America. This misfire is seen in their popular analysis consolidated in the notion that a hunter does not need a sub-machine gun to shoot game.

 

 

One value of this viewpoint is that it acts to define the scope of what the left wants in terms of gun control. Namely, to honor American's constitutional right to bear arms while restricting such arms to weapons normally used by a hunter, e.g. shotgun of whatever bore suits and a single-shot, pump, bolt or lever action high caliber game rifle. In addition, non-automatic pistols are also allowed for target shooting and for self defense.

 

Neither the left nor the right acknowledges our dirty little secret concerning why we want to arm ourselves to the teeth.  Creating personal arsenals has little or nothing to do with target practice or the gentleman's sport of game hunting. It has everything to do with defending ourselves, our homes and our families from intruders. Moreover, such intruders are not so much the odd vagrant, but rather the United States Government.

 

Growing numbers of disaggregated groups and individuals are convinced the government is their enemy and will one day soon dominate the population through military force. Militias of various orientations dominate these groups which number about 900 and boast a population of up to 60,000 or more.

 

 

There are militias in every state with some states having several different ones. Indiana has the most numbering 13 while Texas has five known militias. Their predominant ideology is one of fiercely protected individual rights coupled with a fear of government controls bordering on paranoia.

 

 

Membership consists largely of rural men many of whom served in the military. They generally set up camp in remote areas where they live and train year round or on a periodic basis.

 

Individuals claiming the need to protect Americans from martial domination by the government are less easily enumerated owing largely to varying degrees of activity, conviction, scope and paranoia. Their civil status ranges from wealthy businessmen to red neck drifters.

 

 

Many believe that Armageddon is just around the corner and may descend upon us as a result of massive earthquakes, alien invasion, a meteor strike, global warming, atomic warfare, pervasive urban riots extending into the interior, gang warfare and military intervention. The latter may well come about by the forceful disarming of individual citizens by the US military.

 

 

This scenario is not very far fetched when one considers that legislation banning the ownership of assault weapons may include measures to forcefully remove these weapons from individuals and their homes.

 

There is now an American  television program about families who have decided to prepare themselves for the complete breakdown of society by stocking up on food, water, guns and ammunition. Some have prepared underground shelters complete with solar power, water filters and, of course, an armory.

 

 

These people are sometimes referred to as 'preparers'. One example is the mother of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter who was reportedly convinced that Armageddon was perilously close.

 

The militias and the individual survivalists make the odd deer hunter look like a lad shooting sparrows with a catapult. They are deadly serious, committed to their ideas, ideologies and misconceptions, and are prepared to back up their need for reclusion with their life. They are not, however, organized and any effort to do so would be akin to herding cats.

 

Our leaders in Washington seeking to control the use of guns without violating our constitutional rights are confronted with a monumental task. There is no way they would even attempt to eliminate the possession of assault weapons. This objective is virtually unachievable.

 

 

Legislation is currently being drafted, and has been passed in previous years, that criminalizes the purchase, possession and use of certain weapons. Past legislation on this subject has either lapsed, as in the case of the Assault Weapons Act, or has not been enforced.

 

 

The Assault Weapons Act, or more correctly, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 sought to eliminate the manufacture of assault weapons from 1994 onwards. The act was not renewed.

 

The Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act of 1993 mandated that background checks be conducted on anyone seeking to purchase a gun of any description. This act illustrates the lack of foresight of our legislators. While background checks were conducted at federally registered retail gun shops, weapons could be procured without any background check at gun shows, of which there are many. Moreover, guns are freely and openly bought and sold by individuals. Most newspapers have columns for the sale of guns in their want ad section.

 

We have a long way to go and it is doubtful the USA will ever effectively restrict gun ownership to sporting uses. A major lobby in Washington seeking to ensure this never happening is the National Rifle Association.

 

 

More than any other group, the NRA is adamant about the manufacture, marketing and sale of almost any type of weapon including assault weapons. Members proudly display their NRA badge on their hunting jackets and on the windscreens of their pickup trucks. Loyalty to NRA ideals is extreme and heaven help the person who talks against the NRA in front of committed members.

 

 

To its advocates, the NRA is a sacred cow and will not be neutered through legislation on gun control. One poignant example of its status is the image of Charlton Heston who, as a past Chairman of the NRA, gave a speech at one of its annual national conventions shortly before he died. The photograph depicts Heston lifting a rifle above his head with the caption defiantly stating, 'come and get it'.

 

To be sure, America is gung ho on guns and is not about to be dictated to by this, or any other congress. Any effort to enforce the restriction of weapons to sporting types only will be met with violence throughout the country.

 

 

Let us see what our legislators will come up with this time around.