Facts and Fallacies of Gun Control

On Monday of this week, a woman went into a private Christian School in Nashville, Tennessee and murdered 6 adults and children.  As usual in this country however, almost as if on cue, progressives began demanding increased gun control, again.   They insist that banning "assault-type" weapons and making it harder to purchase guns legally would stop these tragedies from occurring; ignoring the very first fact about all crime: that a criminal is, by definition, one who violates the law. The sad reality is that you cannot prevent crime by passing more laws; since those who commit crimes do not follow them.

The reasons why increased gun control would do little if nothing to slow or prevent mass-shootings, is because in the history of civilization; such weapons have been in existence for too long, people have had too much access, and there are too many of them in existence.  Desiring to remove such weapons from society is a laudable goal; however it is one that is not only impossible to achieve, but also sadly a complete waste of time and resources.   The sad truth, is that these weapons are here among us; and they will most likely remain until they are superseded by another form of weaponry.  Much like the ancient myth of Pandora's box, the evil of high-powered weapons has long been released into the world; and no amount of wishing or working will ever be enough to cram them back into the box from which they came.  

Simply passing laws will never prevent tragedies like Nashville from occurring, sadly.   After all, there were multiple laws the murderer committed on the day: all schools are gun-free zones, it is against the law to shoot people, it is against the law to carry firearms on school properties (whether open or concealed), and more.  What must be done is not to make obtaining firearms harder, so that more will turn to illegal gun ownership and still commit crimes of violence; but rather, to make such crimes unthinkable by encouraging people to acts of radical love and brotherhood instead.  The issue we find with virtually all mass murderers, is that they are outcasts, people whom society deems as unacceptable or unimportant.   Imagine how much could have been prevented if instead of focusing on controlling the objects of a crime, we made the lives of those who committed them better so that crime does not become more difficult, but rather unthinkable!  

It is a fallacy to blame all of these events on lack of gun control, because it places blame on inanimate objects which are incapable of actions of their own accord; but also because it removes blame not only from the criminal, but worse from the society which is whole-heartedly complacent in how it treats the people who will one day be so distraught and disillusioned that they believe such violence is a viable course of action.  We need to change our hearts and minds and those of our brothers and sisters; rather than to pass laws which have no effect.  It is only by encouragement to the truth that life is worth living and that love of neighbor is the greatest thing; that we can ever hope to stem the hemorrhage of hatred and violence in this world.

For those who are cruelly murdered, and for their families; we pray and ask our Lord to lighten their path to his eternal kingdom.  May the angels lead them into the country of paradise, and may they rejoice in the light of God's everlasting Glory.