Gun Control Won’t Create a More Civil Society

by Tina Grazier

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. – John 1:5

Stronger gun control won’t lead to a more civil society and it won’t make our citizens more law abiding. Gun control laws only attempt to increase power in the hands of the few; it fails to acknowledge, much less address, the underlying causes of incivility and lawlwessness. But this obvious truth didn’t stop the usual suspects from calling for stronger gun laws last week. At least two prominent Democrats were up on their gun law soapboxes following the multiple murders that rocked the Aurora community in Colorado. Senator Feinstein weighed in Friday:

“Today is a time for grieving, but my hope is the country will also reflect on the roots of gun violence that has again visited terror on an American community, claiming the lives of more innocents.”

Apparently Senator Feinstein prefers sticking with the old familiar “guns are violent” meme. But in Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell seemed to favor a more emotional appeal:

“The sad part is the only time we discuss any reasonable attempt to limit the sale and distribution of guns is after tragedies like this.”

Even sadder is the fact that these lawmakers would use an event like this to push the Democrat gun control agenda! What…are they less committed to gun control and violating the rights of Americans to keep and bear arms when all is quiet on the violence meter? Or is it that he doesn’t want a tragedy to go to waste?

Rendell is distraught but not because of the tragedy this man has visited on the victims and their families and friends. His deep concern is that politicians won’t grab this opportunity to push for gun control legislation and says it’s because they irrationally “fear the NRA”.

I’m concerned about Senator Feinstein’s and Governor Rendell’s lack of support and defense of our Constitution! Even if Rendell is right about lawmaker fears he would be wise to note that NRA members are fervently joined by most Americans, 73% total, who support the Second Amendment right of the individual to “keep and bear arms”. The people do not fear gun owners or guns. They do have a reasonable fear of those who would usurp the power and rights of the people in violation of the Constitution! And in today’s violent world they strongly believe they have a right to defend themselves against murderers, robbers, and intruders. And they know at the most basic human level that gun control is not the answer to the epidemic levels of violence, immorality, and disrespect that permeate our society.

Any country that hopes to remain civilized and maintain public order must also know and embrace the concept of right and wrong and hold individuals responsible for wrongdoing.

Modern Americans have failed miserably in this vital area. Those we place in positions of power and influence are part of the problem only because they too are the product of past decisions to eschew traditional morals and values. Many of today’s adults are of the generation that rejected the teachings of their elders. They substituted love of self, an open style of living and a collectivist brand of politics. This new context for America placed self-gratification at the forefront of ambitions, relieved the individual of responsibility, and disallowed judgment of others to create the illusion of collective innocence and peace. The reality, decades later, is dysfunction in every segment of our society.

Within the context of the basically good and peaceful the collective must create inanimate villains when peace is shattered and things go terribly wrong.

This is so because within the collective human beings are not responsible; circumstances, groups, conditions, and outside evils are responsible. Since individuals are not held to account the Tea Party can be blamed when a a violent shooting spree occurs. There is no need to make a connection of actual involvement. The perceived wrongdoing coupled with seriousness of the charge is sufficient to place blame. The Tea Party is not a person so it can be held up for judgment without violating the “thou shalt not judge” law of the collective.

In like fashion the SUV, rather than the driver, can be deemed guilty for crashing into a tree. The SUV’s crime is that it is not “green”…it is not environmentally correct.

Inequality or racism become the dastardly evil that keeps people of color from achieving the American Dream.

Justification often appears as “defendant” in court in the form of a poor upbringing or a disadvantaged childhood. It’s no surprise that these nonpersons are often sympathetically found “not guilty” even when evidence says otherwise.

These twin conditions are also the excuse when bands of youths go on murderous rampages in Chicago. They are the terrible forces that compel flash mob violence.

In contrast the rich 1%, is deemed guilty of “robbing” the 99% of wealth and opportunity. The designated percentage becomes a celebrated excuse for mayhem and destruction of property.

Is it any wonder our young people become involved in criminal lifestyles or succumb to commit acts of violence?

Stricter gun laws won’t prevent incidents like the one in Colorado. Recreating a moral, responsible context in America will also not put an end to these incidents. The Colorado shooter is an inevitable condition of fallen man in a fallen world.

We can, however, do something about the widespread criminal lifestyle. This condition lives in our society as a direct outcome of the failure to teach right and wrong, Teaching morals and values and holding individuals personally responsible is vital if we are to once again enjoy a more civilized, law abiding society.

Rededicating ourselves to principles and values would certainly give future generations of children a solid grounding. That firm grounding is missing today and is evident in the deplorable acts we witness in our cities on a daily basis. The event in Colorado, apparently the result of a mental and spiritual breakdown, will be handled in our courts and will determine what is to be done with Mr. Holmes. But what is to be done about lifestyles that consist of robberies, rapes, assaults, property destruction and murder? What’s to be done about acceptance of these elements in our society and blaming criminal activity on inanimate villains like a poor childhood? These criminal acts are not a result of a mental or psychic break. They are the result of a nation that left its moral underpinnings in the dust and mindlessly marched along a path toward an inevitably destructive and lawless future. We must vow to change that for future generations.

Our Founding Fathers warned about this outcome and suggested the cure.

“Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.” – Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion . . . Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” – John Adams, our second President and signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

“Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is divine. . . . Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run into each other.” – James Wilson, Signer of the Constitution; U. S. Supreme Court Justice.

Certainly we need to restore solid family foundations and encourage church attendance. There’s a good chance that teaching our children more about the values our founders held dear would also help to make future generations more likely to be law abiding citizens. Gun rights are an important part of our heritage. Students should be instructed about gun rights and gun safety as part of their education. Unfortunately, we would probably have to re-educate many of our educators first but wouldn’t a more civil society be worth these efforts?