What do you want?

I’m going to try to make this my last post on this topic. I know many of my friends don’t exactly agree with me here and I certainly don’t want to chase you all away.

What do you (personally) want out of gun control? Do you want to never see a gun in the hands of a civilian again? Do you want to feel safer? What is it that you really want? What problem do you want to solve? I mentioned this in a comment on another thread and I think it warrants a wider discussion, in case my friends think I’m deranged for thinking this. In my opinion, and so far I can read and (even liberally) interpret from the Constitution (although, many recent laws seem to disagree), you don’t have the right to feel safe. You have the right to be safe.

Not trying to preemptively neuter any arguments here, but some interesting facts:

  • According to the FBI, violent crime is down by 50% in the last 20 years. National murder rates are down slightly more. You are, in fact, safer today than any time in the last half century despite gun laws across the nation being lessened.
  • The bulk of our national violent crime and murders come from large metropolitan areas, many of which have the strongest gun controls in the country.
  • While the number of mass shootings are up in the last 3 decades (the statistic depends on how you define a mass shooting and who is doing the reporting), you are still more likely to die in a plane crash than by some mad man wielding an “assault weapon”. This of course is no excuse for the shootings and by no means a reason to take no action, but we should be asking if the actions we want to take are a solution in search of a problem instead of meaningful actions meant to deal with the problems we’re facing.

A couple more videos (also posted to Facebook):

Archangel / January 7, 2013 / Personal / 1 Comment

Gun control?

If you don’t live life in a deep dark hole and have some sort of moral compass, you have probably been thinking a lot about gun control lately. Rightly so. Not long ago, I asked a few questions to try to get some interesting discussion out of my friends (sadly, few replied — I wonder if that means I’m really just talking to myself here?), and now I’d like to have a new discussion. This time on solutions and what I honestly think will have a meaningful effect in society.

First, an apology to a my friends on Facebook. While no one said anything to me directly, I think I was indirectly accused of being a right wing, gun loving nut because of some of the pictures I shared. I assure you, I was not intending to give that view or be insensitive to the larger discussion society is beginning to have.

Before I go into the things I think we should do as a society, let me give the basis for my opinions:

  • The second amendment was NOT written to allow for self defense or hunting. Anyone who tries to tell me that an “assault rifle” isn’t necessary for hunting is either ignorant to the purpose of guns in our society or simply providing a strawman to provide a fear based reasoning. The 2nd Amendment was designed to keep the government in fear of the people and provide the populous the means to throw off their government should it cease to represent the people, their interests or the Constitution itself. Those who argue that the mentioning of a militia means the right to bear arms is kept by the government are still ignorant of the 2nd Amendment. At the writing of Constitution, the colonies had already formed a Continental Army under the control of a provisional government and if they had meant the army they would have said so. The amendment was written to allow private citizens to form and supply a private militia should one be required. I know its too much to ask, but I firmly believe that every discussion about gun rights and control MUST start with this understanding.
  • As a small aside… for those of you who think the Constitution is outdated and the 2nd Amendment no longer applies, the proper way to get rid of it is through the amendment process as we’ve done 17 times after the bill of rights. We should not simply choose to ignore our founding document which we’ve for 2 centuries held as the basis of our government’s power… if we allow anyone to simply ignore one part of the Constitution because its popular to do so today… just imagine the power we give to a government who stops caring about popular opinion.
  • As a matter of policy, most of the extreme crime that has made national news would not have been prevented by the former Assault Weapons Ban and in several cases the only law that might have prevented the crimes at all is a total ban on all weapons (or maybe semi-autos).
  • While we’re not really moving in the direction of a total ban, or even a ban on semi-autos, I think it important to note, at least for myself, that such bans (even if the government tried to go around and collect everyone’s guns) would at best only take the guns from people who are willing enough to give them up as to not hide them or otherwise make them unavailable for the government to take. In other words… we’ll likely only be taking the guns from the “good guys” therefore making an increase in gun violence after gun bans a self fulfilling prophecy.
  • I also think it is extremely important to note that across the country there are thousands of reports of crimes that were prevented or lessened by private citizens owning guns. Obviously, a very small minority of those incidents would have resulted in one or more persons’ deaths and I realize the number of lives actually saved is impossible to quantify, however, we must also recognize that placing absurdly strict gun laws into effect will reduce the number of incidents where a “good guy” used a gun to stop a “bad guy” and the number of deaths by violent crime will very likely go up.
  • As a concealed carry permit holder, I would like to point out that the number of gun deaths and violent crimes perpetrated by a licensed or permitted person is so low that it doesn’t even warrant a mention in the FBI violent crime reports despite the fact that the FBI does keep track of the permit status of criminals.
  • Finally, heavy and excessive gun controls have not caused overall violent crime to go down. For national examples we can look at Washington D.C., Chicago, and L.A. which saw and/or continue to see some of the highest crime rates and gun violence rates of anywhere in the world while the controls were/are in effect. For worldly examples we can look at Great Britain and Australia who saw spikes in gun violence after their laws were passed and have continued to see elevated violent crime rates ever since (I realize by comparison the U.S. has a dramatically higher rate of gun deaths than these countries as well, but it would take an entire dissertation to explain the differences between the U.S. and G.B./Aus and the answer isn’t simply gun control). For an extreme example, we can look at Mexico which I believe requires no explanation (and please don’t tell me that Mexico is different because it has drug cartels… the same cartels are operating just over our southern border and are slowly taking hold in many of our border cities).

I realize all of the above are things many of you have heard or read before. Some of you probably read them and can say “yeah but…” to every single one. [Because of these things, I’ve personally been accused of contributing to the deaths at the school in CT.] I’d love to hear counter points to everything above… just don’t give me emotional or accusatory drivel.

Now, for the reason I’m typing this morning. What would I do?

  • Close the background check loopholes: No one should be able to go to a gun show to avoid background checks and walk away with a small arsenal.
  • Create a national standard for background checking that includes proper criminal and mental health checks. Then, prevent any person who is not permitted in a state meeting these minimum requirements from carrying concealed or transporting a loaded weapon across state lines. The only purpose of this would be to provide incentive for every state to create a permitting process and would never actually prevent crime, but is a good step to making sure people have to go through proper checks to carry a weapon legally.
  • Safe storage requirements: If everyone in a home can legally own a weapon, then a locked door to the home is sufficient. However, if any person in a home can not legally own a weapon (i.e. felon, mentally ill, children under the age of 21, etc), then any and all firearms in the home should be required to be stored in a manner that prevents unlawful persons from gaining use of the firearms when the firearms are not in use by or in the possession of a person who can legally own said firearms. If the logistics are too hard for you or your family to handle… then you don’t get to have guns
  • Make gun laws for those who are legally permitted to carry concealed make sense. Remove all “gun free zones” from law for permit holders whose permits meet minimum standards for background checks and shooting proficiency. If we want to create a federal carry permit/license issued by the ATF for this purpose, bring it on, but lets stop creating public areas where people can not defend themselves from the guns the government can’t take away (even if they gave themselves the power to do so). [Note: a provision for allowing non-publicly accessible private land/facilities (i.e. a private residence or membership club) to post a no-guns sign would be acceptable, but limiting in a mall/theater/etc is just stupid.]

I do, very much, hope all my friends out there comment and contribute to this discussion. I know we’re not going to change anything ourselves, but it is most definitely worth it to share our thoughts and ideas.

Archangel / December 26, 2012 / Personal, Political / 8 Comments

Apparently I’m big and scary.

I think I experienced one of the reasons so many people today want to try to get rid of private gun ownership (and simultaneously one of the reasons that concealed carry should never be abridged).

Theresa and I went out tonight to have dinner with a couple friends whose brother/in-law had come to town, that should obviously not be that special of an event. We went through the down town area of a small community near us and found that there were no parking spots in sight. I went just outside of the main strip and found some open parking. As to not force Theresa to have to cross multiple streets, I made a u-turn (its legal here, I promise!) to park on the other side. I put on my turn signal, lined up the parking spot, put the truck in reverse… and things went horribly wrong somehow.

A small car pulled up to just a few feet off my bike rack. I’m not sure how much more clear reverse lights and a turn signal get, but the guy pulled right up as if expecting me to just get out of his way (which I would have gladly done). He sat there for a couple seconds as another car pulled up behind him. He honked his horn, I honked mine. The car behind him began to back up… the car behind me did nothing… I let my breaks go for a couple inches to indicate the direction I intended to move and the guy still just sat there. Not knowing if he was simply missing the point, I parked the truck got out and point at the spot I intended to park in. The guy didn’t move so I ask him to lower his window and asked him to back up, curiously he said no. As I walked back to get into my car, he revved his engine and inched forward as if to hit my car… Mind you, this was a little 4 door nothing from the late ’90s. I turned around and told the guy he’d have as much luck moving my truck as he would just getting me to go away.

[Before going on, I should interject, that while my voice was raised to overcome the noise outside and his windows that were down at first, I was consciously doing nothing threatening. Other than gesturing for where I wanted to go and motioning for him to move back, my hands were down and I never came closer than 3-4 feet of this guys car.]

At this point, the guy looks me dead in the eye and asks, “Do you know about the North Carolina stand-your-ground law?” Wuuuuut? I’m sure this older gentleman was quite disappointed that his tacit (albeit obvious) threat didn’t scare me much. As a NC CWP (concealed weapons permit) holder I am quite familiar with the CC laws and stand-your-ground… Stand-your-ground is not a tool to win a pissing contest in the middle of a public street, ass hole. Anyway, I told him that even saying that, by North Carolina law, constituted a threat against my person and if he felt threatened he should call the police (he had reached for his phone at this point and was pretending to look at it).

Not wanting to inflame the situation (which in retrospect, was clear I had already done), I left it at that and got back in my truck. In a vein hope that the man would see reason, I put my truck in reverse for a moment to see if he would back up. I’m not sure why, but I was astonished that the man still flatly refused to be a decent human being. I could see in the side-view that a good line of cars had built up so I pulled forward a bit then reversed to the other side of the road to let the traffic pass (this scared Theresa a bit I think). It happens that where we were going to eat was right across the street from the police station and the shift was in the process of changing so police were driving by quite regularly. I flagged down an officer and informed him of the situation. Since I only had a description of the man and his car, nothing will come of it, but at least I said my peace.

Thinking back on things, nothing would have ever become of this had I just let the guy be an ass and moved on. Fair point. Believe it or not, the idea never occurred to me, but I will take the blame for creating the situation. There are, however, a few questions that bother me.

First, what in the world would cause this guy to intentionally pull up on me when I’m signalling a parallel park and then refuse to allow me to park? Seriously, the guy offered absolutely nothing. He didn’t call me names, he didn’t say my car was too big, he didn’t say he was in a hurry, he didn’t even say he was prejudice against parallel parking. Hell, even the man’s wife was begging for him to get out of the way. I just can not understand it. Is he that sour? Did he want a confrontation (he at least wanted me to think he had a gun)?

Second, if he was carrying a gun and felt the situation had the potential to require its use… why would he announce to me that he had a gun? Its kind of a funny thing really. On average, most people would probably expect to be the only person with a CWP and/or gun in a particular situation since the permit and carry rate is pretty low. He just happened to be wrong (I actually wasn’t carrying — more on that later). How stupid of a gun toting hick do you have to be to think that from a sitting position in a car you can out draw someone standing outside your car… especially after making the presumed assailant aware of your weapon?

Last, what does this mean to me? I know there are dumb gun owners out there. I’ve discussed on this blog before the idea that simply possessing a gun might make someone feel empowered, and I think this man might be one of those. I have no doubt that he feels justified in his threat… but that is what actually bothers me. The right to carry a gun and the idea of ‘stand-your-ground’ are most emphatically NOT tools to get your way. Hell, they’re not even tools when you’re simply frightened… if you feel a gun might be necessary, you’d better be damn sure your life is in danger, otherwise you are the one making a situation bad. So what does it mean to me? Its a sad realization that I just met the reason that people don’t want private guns. If any idiot can get a carry permit then try to use the threat of a gun to solve a traffic dispute… we “gots” problems. Its also the sad realization that even one of the more affluent areas around me isn’t immune to (potentially extreme) violence. Sure in Durham the threat is obvious.. but around here I apparently have to worry about frightened old men who probably pea their pants when a tall, broad-shouldered young man confronts them on their (potentially senile) behavior. I typically only carry when I feel I’m putting myself in situations that could become dangerous… after this, I’m actually more likely to carry from now on. The next idiot might not be so senile.

Archangel / November 24, 2012 / Personal / 0 Comments

It has come to my attention…

… that the hosting I was graciously gifted by a friend may be coming to an end soon. I’ll be backing everything up and determining what to do in the next week or so. From what I can see, so very few people read my posts that it may not be worth continuing the site (it probably doesn’t help that I don’t post often… and I’m quite sure that one feeds the other). My original purpose for this site was entire to have my own domain so I could have a better looking email address, which I now have in a live.com domain, so I’m not sure I need to keep either the site or the domain.

If you enjoy my occasional thoughts, I’d appreciate you dropping me a note here.

Archangel / October 24, 2012 / Personal / 2 Comments

Discussion in the wake of Colorado

If social media is any indication, its going to be a very long time before the public can be rational about what to do in the wake of things like the theater shooting, school shootings and the Trevon Martin shooting. We have people saying to “take all of the guns away” and others saying “give everyone guns”. Neither of these are rational solutions or even logical reactions to what has happened in recent times especially since we the public don’t even know what really happened. In the case of George Zimmerman, the Martin family along with racial leaders (Sharpton and Jackson) hijacked the entire media coverage for a month to pain Zimmerman as a bigot who hunted Trevon down “like a dog”. The police and FBI investigations are not showing that caricature to be, at least in part, inaccurate. I’ll bet that through the investigation of the theater shooting we find out that there were indications about this kid being disturbed and that some of the things he procured (or at least the ways he got them) weren’t legal.

Instead of trying to parse through events that I wasn’t there for and try predict things that may have prevented such things from happening, I would love to have a rational debate around the core topic that people are undoubtedly going to talk about a lot soon… Gun control. And I’d like to do so by posing a few targeted questions — and give my answers at the same time.
(more…)

Archangel / July 21, 2012 / Personal, Political / 0 Comments