The Boston Massacre

The problem with the great gun debate is that it is more complex than people like to pretend.  The NRA especially seems to be incredibly close-minded when it comes to compromise and civilized debate.

         The heart of the problem is the second amendment, a part of our constitution that specifically states that American Citizens have the right to bear arms.  Our constitution is over two hundred years old however, and we need to take into account the fact that weapons have changed dramatically since then.

       In 1791, when the second amendment was adopted, the most advanced weapon was a flintlock musket with a bayonet at the end.  Muskets were so inaccurate, slow, and cumbersome that many soldiers carried swords for close range fighting.  Part of the logic behind the second amendment stemmed from the massive American debt at the time.  Early presidents particularly Thomas Jefferson made massive cuts to the U.S military, trusting that if America was invaded the American people would be armed and ready to defend their homes. 

       In 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped in the Trinity Nuclear Test.  Nuclear weapons are powerful enough to literally destroy the planet, obviously the right to bear arms does not include such devastating devices.  It’s clear that individuals can’t own missiles or drive around in tanks, it wouldn’t take long for some psycho to march into a school or church and wreck havoc.  Why then should automatic weapons be legal, when they can be just as devastating? 

         Today, as I’m sure you know, someone bombed the Boston Marathon.  This tragic event raises a new issue in the debate over guns.  In our wonderful age of the internet and instant information it is easy for any malicious person to make their own homemade explosives.  Basically, in our overpopulated world there will always be someone who wants to bomb a Boston marathon, and there will always be ways for them to find weapons, so the only thing for us to do is lock ourselves in our homes.

          Thankfully, there aren’t that many insane people.  People who shoot up schools get all the media attention, but the majority of gun violence occurs from completely sane individuals.  Anyone can lose their temper.

          The thing about losing your temper, or being startled in the night, is that your moment of weakness only lasts a few minutes.  That’s not enough time to go create some explosives.  With guns being so easily available however, plenty of people who never plan on using them have deadly weapons within their reach, and in that split second of weakness they can destroy someone else’s, as well as their own future.

           I believe the right to bear arms should extend to weapons that allow weak persons to defend themselves from strong persons, such as an old-fashioned musket, and not to weapons that allow you to massacre large groups of moviegoers, school children, or tired joggers.

Info on the Bombing:  The 2nd Boston Massacre 

Here's an opinionated video I made on handgun restrictions last summer.  Watch it with a grain of salt, it is mostly sensational.  But still, the argument remains....