Guns and the Law

 

The State of Illinois has just enacted a law prohibiting the sale or possession of assault weapons. In principle, a have no objection to such laws. Assault rifles belong in the hands of soldiers, not civilians. We have long prohibited the sale and possession of specific kinds of firearms without violating the 2nd amendment legal right to bear arms. And as was the case, those who already own assault rifles can continue to maintain possession of them. That is, the bill does nothing to restrict possession of the 20 million or so assault weapons already in the hand of civilians. And as we have already seen, guns laws ineffectual in keeping these and other firearms out of the hands of those who would use them to commit crimes. The recent case of the 6-year-old first-grade student who shot his teacher is such an example. The simple fact is that anyone who want to own a firearm, including assault rifles, can obtain one from the 400 million firearms already in the hands of civilians. The elephant  is already in the room and is there to stay.

The other fact is that no firearm of it own volition has ever killed or wounded anyone. Legally possessed  or otherwise,  that always requires someone to pull the trigger for some cause, deliberate or otherwise, of their own. And over half of the firearm related death are self-inflicted suicides.As such any gun laws short of a total ban on them are nothing more than ineffectual political window dressing in response to emotional outcry of "too many gun deaths" by some of the citizens. But that outcry has seldom accomplished anything.

The reasoned answer to the cause of gun violence in the United States is (a) a long history of gun culture, (b) a devaluation of human life, (c) a failure to address mental illness and (d) a decline in respect for law and order. From past gun violent is the Wild West to present gun violence between gangs in the street of our metropolis, little has changed. Until these issues are addressed, gun violence in the United States will continue and likely increase ... new gun laws or not. Gun violence is not a legal issue. It is an issue with the behavior of our society.