Gun Control
We Facebook users have all seen posts written by “God,” who attempts to straighten out His flock when it may have gone astray on this issue or that. Here’s one you may have seen on gun control in the wake of the tragedy in Las Vegas, flowed by a conversation on the subject:
God: Stop sending “thoughts and prayers,” and instead pass gun control legislation, you amoral bastards.
Craig Shields I hesitate to correct God’s grammar/word usage, but I need to chime in here on His choice of “amoral” in this case.
“Amoral” and “immoral” are two different things. “Amoral” means being unconcerned or uninvolved with moral codes and principles. “Immoral” implies actively defying moral codes, i.e., being deliberately unethical, hurtful, evil.
Here we’re describing people whose life’s work is profiting from actions they know for a fact will result in the wholesale slaughter of innocent people and the piercing, unyielding pain this will cause to their victims’ loved ones. That’s pretty clearly immoral.
I hope the Big Guy Upstairs will forgive me for this, but it was a distinction I felt compelled to make.
A friend: Calling someone an immoral or amoral bastard will do nothing to bring them to your point of view!!
Craig Shields This isn’t an attempt to persuade anyone. People who are OK with our gun laws as they currently exist are incapable of being persuaded by reason. Those who need to be told that it’s wrong to make money by sending uncountable numbers of innocent people to their graves couldn’t care less what I say.
And, as we speak, gun control legislation is rapidly going the other direction. The second executive order Trump signed in January nullified the Obama Era’s prohibition on selling guns to certifiable lunatics, and just today, Congress is working on legalizing gun silencers.
No one’s words, least of all mine, can make a dent in this mass butchery-for-profit.
Craig,
As a citizens of two nations with historically strict gun laws, I find the American obsession with guns bizarre.
I can understand the need for farmers to possess and use rifles and shot guns. I also understand the need to arm law enforcement, security services etc.
I suppose I can even understand the desire for genuine individuals to possess weapons for ‘sporting’ purposes.
I don’t consider the manufacturers ‘immoral ‘or even ‘amoral’, they simply produce products in accordance with legislation.
I can even understand the President’s principle of ending the practice of replacing law making by using Presidential fiats.
What I can’t understand is the US ATF estimate that US citizens possess between 370 million and 660 million fire arms. These include everything from single shot hand guns, to heavy machine guns.
The task of disarming America would seem to be impossible, especially with guns so deeply embedded in the American psyche. Every film, TV show, promotional photo has someone holding a gun in a sexy pose.
As a lawyer, I’m baffled by the logic behind the US Supreme Court’s interpretation of the 2 amendment.
As a licenced gun owner (farming) I still can’t see the justification for private citizens to possess hand guns. The argument “if you stop legal gun owning, the only guns will be in the hands of criminals”, id unsupportable.
While I agree with your sentiments, I think it would take a massive cultural shift in the US before effective gun control can be imposed.