Thoughts on Guns, Safety, and Freedom - Including Five Gun Control Rules I Support!
Life, liberty, and property are the foundation of any discussions about rights. These are universal and reciprocal measures to define the limits of anyone's sphere of authority and the boundaries of trespass against others. They also define when others have trespassed against you. This fits within the framework of the Golden Rule, the Zero Aggression Principle, and other ancient measures for civilized behavior.
When you are faced with an emergency, you are the first responder. You may need to render first aid or CPR before any professionals arrive in a medical emergency. You may need to use a fire extinguisher to stop a fire before it can grow. You may also need to respond to violent assailants with proportionate defensive violence for the same reason. A firearm is nothing more or less than property that can be used to defend life, liberty, and property from those who would trespass against them. It is the means by which free people maintain civilization.
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Firearm ownership does not inherently violate the reciprocal rights of others. However, any form of "common-sense" government regulation necessarily means a threat to violate the life, liberty, and property of others if they do not comply with whatever arbitrary dictates the proponent calls "common-sense." And enforcement of such dictates necessarily means sending men with guns to do the dirty work.
No matter how much the hoplophobe may appeal to emotion, cherry-pick data, or insult any who question him, he is not the one holding the moral high ground. Look past his rhetoric to see the real threats he makes. Then discard them as the violent uncivilized nonsense they truly are.
Of course, any crime is a real problem. While violent crime has plummeted dramatically across the board over the past 30 years in the US, I do not wish to minimize the real concerns that drive the gun control agenda. But they misdiagnose the problem and then propose a poison as a cure. It is absurd to try stopping crime by committing more crimes under color of law.
A significant portion of violent crime is a consequence of government prohibitions creating the environment for violent black markets. Drugs are bad, but puritanical control freaks using violence to violate the rights of others are worse.
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On a practical front, while it's hard to verify anecdotal evidence of firearms used defensively with no shots fired, evidence indicates that armed citizens can and do stop mass shootings before any mass numbers are shot. If that argument for gun control is, "If it even saves just one life," what about the situations where firearm freedom saved lives? The former is speculation supported by appeals to emotion, while the latter situation is supported by evidence.
I will say this in favor of gun control, though: control your own firearms. Teach your children to respect them. Keep them out of the reach of curious little hands. make sure you and your family understand the basic rules of firearm safety.
1. Always treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
If you can't see into the chamber, the gun is "hot." No exceptions.
2. Never point a firearm at anything you do not intend to shoot.
Always point a gun in a safe direction, preferably the dirt or an empty hillside.
3. Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
This means along the frame, outside the trigger guard.
4. Keep the gun on 'safe' until you intend to fire.
This only applies to firearms with a manual safety. Don't use the safety as an excuse to violate the other rules, though. Mechanisms fail at the worst possible times. The most important safety is between your ears.
5. Be sure of your target, and know what is beyond it.
Never shoot at sound or movement. If you don't know what it is, don't shoot. If someone or something past the target could be endangered by bullet over-penetration or a missed shot, don't shoot.
And there you go. Five rules for common-sense gun control I can support.
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Ah, I've always just referred to these as the 4 rules of gun safety, and I just combine 3 and 4 into one single thing as a lot of handguns these days don't have a manual safety anymore like you mentioned. I like your way of phrasing it as common sense gun control better though, lol.
This reminds me I need to actually clean out my old safe, I don't have many guns in there anymore but it's probably beyond fucking dusty/dirty in there since I haven't wiped it down in like 2 years almost. Ugh.
I like the intelligent way you spell it out, @jacobtothe! I think more and more people are seeing through the gun-control rhetoric to the deep state agenda behind the scenes. 100% Upvoted and Resteemed!
It's not about guns, it's about control. Control is the root principle behind every government program, no matter how they spin it.
Clint Eastwood has a good take.
If there's a gun around, I want to be in control of it.
Keep you and your gat intact!
Well written post, I think #5 is often overlooked especially when someone decides to shoot in their backyard without a proper backstop or is shooing on public land not knowing who might be around. The potential impact area for rifles is very large!
That's why I choose a mountainside for a backstop when shooting on public land.
Now if we could only get deer hunters to look past the deer and shop shooting people lol
IIRC, negligent shootings have been declining along with violent crime.
It is exactly what has been done all this time, but all that is simply the promotion of a political agenda that wants to see the United States disarmed, that is, defenseless. In such a way that when they want to reach the extreme and end their individual liberties, there is no threat of armed people, willing to defend their rights.
And I think another common sense firearm rule should be get trained and practice shooting the guns you own. Great post, I think people often overlook that in America "they" would've taken over by now if we didn't have an armed citizenry. Especially after Trump won, if not even before. Sad, but I think true.
Group therapy is important. Making small groups of holes in paper at long range is very therapeutic.
Anyone who has a shotgun should consider joining a local skeet and trap club. Busting clays is fun, and it builds skill with the gun for hunting or self-defense.
This is great, it's true that life, liberty and property are the foundations of our rights as humans. Although in some countries, we never see bearing arms as a fundamental right, it's true we have lesser reports of mass shootings but gun crime are still rampant as people get guns through black market, it is a bit different compared to some strict European countries that experiences very little gun crimes. But in the American case, instead of pushing for gun control, which I also believe will only create more problems, I want to believe having a proper due diligence process in gun acquisition will go a long way, it will ensure guns going only to responsible users who can then follow the common sense protection rules you have listed.
And who is to be in charge of this "due diligence?"
I know it defeats the point to ask the government to unanymously do this but maybe pro-arm bearing orgs like the NRA can be involved in deciding conditions requisite to gun ownership. It's not a sure solution to reducing mass shooting which is the major concern, but it might just be a step in the right direction.
The solution to mass shootings is to stop restricting potential victims from being able to respond immediately. As linked above, there is ample evidence that armed citizens stop shootings before mass murder can really occur, and it's a bad idea to use an event like the Las Vegas shooting to craft policy. I don't trust any third party who claims veto power over me exercising my natural rights.
It's true singular events shouldn't be isolated when making policies. I think gun control discussion in America is complex since the concept of individual rights is broader than what obtains in countries i'm very familiar with (especially my home country and the UK). At the end of the day, I guess the lowest hanging solution for the US are the common sense personal control you've spelt out in your post and probably training people to respond better with their arms during emergencies.