I have been waiting a bit to write this entry up. Last thing I wanted to write was a "knee jerk"
response to the tragic events that have recently occurred....actually the ongoing and continuing tragic events that we seem to read about daily and on some days, multiple times during the course of any given day.
Everywhere you turn there is reports and news about gun related violence.
No doubt about it, gun related violence is everywhere in this country.
Just look at what has been reported this morning in the Detroit Free Press.
The headline reads 2012 was Detroit's Most Violent in 20 Years; shootings, "bloodshed have become the norm".
"We've lost respect of each other," Mayor Dave Bing said. "We've lost respect for life."That kind of sums things up pretty well but lets take a big step back for a minute.
Let's go back to the beginning.
It all started in China, where gunpowder was first created. In the ninth century, alchemists blended charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur into a powder called huo yao, which was used to treat skin infections [source: Kit Meng]. Armies quickly learned the powder could be used in bombs, mines and other weapons [source: McLean Brevard]. Gunpowder was transported to Europe in the 13th century, likely over the Silk Road trade routes through central Asia. Rival nations refined gunpowder recipes in the ensuing centuries before arriving at the optimum mixture: approximately 75 percent saltpeter, 15 percent charcoal and 10 percent sulfur [source: Nolan].
Historians typically recognize Chinese fire lances, which were invented in the 10th century, as the first guns. These bamboo or metal tubes projected flames and shrapnel at their targets. Cannons appeared in Italy around 1320, where they were modified as European nations waged many wars. By the 16th century, European firearms had become far more advanced -- and far more deadly -- than their counterparts in the East. This above mentioned historial information was found at How Stuff Works on the internet.
At the beginning and during these modern times, gun were used by the military kill their enemy...guns were used for self defense of both humans and animals ( although at times the differences between the 2 might be difficult to find and guns were also used tool use in obtaining food and clothing.
Guns have gone through huge changes since the development of the first one.
Humans have made the guns bigger and more powerful...some smaller but equally as deadly as their larger counterparts. We even have gone so far as to make guns that are almost invisible, or at least they were at one time, when being carried through an x-ray machine. They have evolved to the point where you can fire one round with each squeeze of the trigger or multiple rounds with each trigger pull. They also have evolved to the point where you can't even hear the guns go off when firing.
Bigger bullets, more powerful bullets, bullets than can pierce almost anything have been made by us humans.
On and on it has gone....on and on it currently goes and will go.
Now lets take a quick look at "gun control" A person wants to buy a gun, they go to a store, fill out the appropriate paperwork, go through criminal check, wait a period of time, hand over those greenbacks...get a license....get a gun. Basically the same occurs with rifles Some rules for obtaining a gun or rifle are the same across the board and some states might have variations or different variables involved in the purchase of these weapons.
These checks and counter checks are our "gun control".
Some people want only the military and police to be armed with guns. This will never work unless the Constitution is re-written and we know that most likely will not happen in reference to bearing arms. Even if it did happen, if I want a gun, I can go into and town or city and find someone that will sell me a gun. These weapons are everywhere...some held legally and some possessed illegally.
They is no way that you can ever get all of these weapons off the street. If the government tried to collect all of these weapons, the gun market would explode (no pun intended). The prices would skyrocket but the bottom line would be that us humans would still be able to get our guns but we would be in the supply/demand arena and would have to pay a higher financial price.
Anyone who is mentally challenged, socially challenged, addicted to drugs or is a stark raving nut case can get a gun if they really want one. The gun control that is currently in place will not hinder this individual from obtaining a weapon.
There is no stopping this fact. Sure the government can make it harder to get a gun/rifle legally but the secondary/black market is over flowing with these objects.
If you are a law abiding citizen, you can go through the proper procedures and get a gun but unless you take the appropriate measures of securing this weapon once you have it, it can easily get into the hands of someone that has evil and deadly intentions....even a family member. The person having the gun in their possession has the responsibility of applying "gun control" over that weapon.
Now comes the time to ask one the BIG question...is it the gun that is at fault or is it the human that has physical control that carries the burden of responsibility.
Here is a scenario....a person leaves a gun on a kitchen table. The gun that is laying there is nothing more than an object...a man made object but just an object none the less. This object has no power to lock and load itself nor does it have the ability to point itself at someone and discharge a round..at least under normal conditions.
This object is nothing more that an object that has the potential to be a deadly object. The only way this object can become a deadly object is with the introduction of a human being coming into this scenario.
This gun can be deadly because it was made by humans to do certain things but it remains just an object on that table until there is some type of physical interaction between the gun and a living thing.
Once that gun is touched or picked up, it becomes an object that can harm or kill but not just because of its very nature...being a gun...but because of that physical interaction we humans have with that object.
So what is the answer to this issue.
Personally I do not see a clear cut easy answer. There are people that hunt and people that own weapons for their own protection and the protection of others and their property.
Unfortunately there are those people that use these guns with evil and criminal intentions.
We as a human species in general have had serious input into the evolution of these weapons. We created these weapons and some use these weapons. Some to do good and some to do bad. The good person will handle and secure the weapon properly so that it can't harm another person and is kept away from those that want to do bad. The "bad" person will use the weapon to achieve their own criminal goals.
So how do we find the right balance between my rights to have a gun for self protection, the protection of my loved ones and my property versus the criminal types that use these weapons to take the lives of innocent people. Where is that line of balance drawn...or can there ever really be a balance when it comes to these weapons and our rights.
We as human beings need to come up with some solid answers before there is another Sandy Hook School or any other senseless killing that you can read about on a daily basis. As long as there are "bad" people in our society, there will be more of these senseless tragedies that leave us scratching are heads and asking WHY?
**Note... that the opinions expressed above are mine and mine alone. Please don't let them influence your own personal opinions or beliefs.
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