Gunning for It

The phrase ‘gunning for it’ means to be competing for or trying hard to get something. Many people are gunning for reasonable, sensible and logical gun control. Others are gunning for no new restrictions on purchasing and owning guns. Discussions around gun control can become emotional and contentious given the staunch positions of individuals. The organizations, individuals including politicians, and money involved grind progress towards reasonable, sensible and logical gun control to a halt. Gun violence is on the rise and occurring in places we used to feel safe leading to fear, anxiety, depression and hyper vigilance among other mental health concerns. Fear of loss of access and rights to gun ownership can cause anxiety, anger, and manic thoughts and actions to protect those rights. Collectively, our mental health is suffering.

The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States according to Congress.gov reads: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It was adopted in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights to provide a constitutional check on congressional power under Article I Section 8 to organize, arm, and discipline the federal militia. Militia is defined as a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency. We do not have a militia to supplement our regular army due to an emergency of which the majority of us are aware. There may be individuals or groups that believe they are part of a militia regardless of whether it is true which can be considered delusional thinking. There are people who believe an arsenal of guns is needed to protect themselves in the event martial law is declared. This is fear-based thinking that can lead to paranoia about people, places and things.

The most common firearms used in 1791 were handguns or long guns that had to be reloaded after every shot. The politicians in the late 1700s that created the Bill of Rights and Second Amendment had no earthly way of predicting that humankind would create many weapons of mass destruction, and that we would actually use them on each other. Weapons of mass destruction include nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, or other devices that are intended to harm or kill a large number of people. AR -15s are weapons of mass destruction. Those same elected officials would not have known that the internet and social media would weave their intricate webs around the world creating platforms for unstable individuals to meet, plan and announce attacks on innocent people using weapons of mass destruction. They would not have known that violent video games and movies would be so prevalent numbing impressionable minds to human suffering.

I asked close family and friends who support second amendment rights for their opinions on gun control. The discussion started off a little heated as each of us prepared to defend our positions. We agreed that increased mental health funding is needed; the legal age to buy a gun should be raised to 21; restrictions on some magazine purchases would be wise and have worked in the past; and stricter background checks are needed. We also agreed AR-15s serve no reasonable, sensible or logical purpose for civilians to own. AR-15s were designed and intended for the U.S. military not civilians. Some may think AR-15s are cool to own but they are weapons of mass destruction that James Madison did not foresee when he drafted The American Bill of Rights which included the Second Amendment. He would most likely believe that in 2022, reasonable, sensible and logical gun control is desperately needed.

“True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth…” – Eleanor Roosevelt