Guns Aren't Responsible

First published in 1994
An inanimate object can not be held responsible for its use. If a person is hit and injured by a car, the car is not held liable for the injuries; the operator of the car is held liable. I have yet to hear anyone suggest that all cars should be removed from the streets. In 1989 there were 49,600 accidental motor vehicle deaths. It could be argued that if all people gave up the use of their automobile and depended on public transportation the death rate due to motor vehicles would be substantially reduced. But, we do not blame the automobile.
Why is it that people blame the handgun for deaths? It is the person behind the gun that is responsible for a handgun killing, not the gun. As for accidental deaths due to firearms, in 1989 the total was 1,600 deaths. Far fewer people than were accidentally killed by automobiles. Accidental falls accounted for 12,400 deaths in 1989 and drowning accounted for 4,600 deaths. If a person drowned in a pool I would not blame the pool. Using common sense, not emotion, it is apparent that inanimate objects, such as guns, cars and pools, are not at fault.
In this present effort to ‘get guns off the street’, we are putting the focus only on guns. Personally, I am not worried about the gun that Mr. and Mrs. Smith have, especially if they are willing to turn it in for toys or whatever incentive is offered. It is the gun owned by ‘John Doe Crazy’ or ‘Gang Man Fred’ that I would like to see disappear. I doubt that they are among the people who are turning their guns in. If John Doe Crazy breaks into my house I want the right and support to protect myself with a gun.
Personally I do not oppose all legislation regarding gun ownership. Certain people are unstable and would make risky gun owners, just as a person guilty of breaking numerous traffic laws can be a risky driver. Those exceptions, however, must never become the rule. It is wrong to take away one person’s rights just because someone else can’t handle the obligations which go along with those rights.
Emotions and words can easily hide the true problems. Let us all look beyond the gun and focus our attention, our wrath, on the true problem of death by guns. We must decide how to handle the violence and crime and not be put off by remedies that fail to address the real problem.
Above all let us each remember that a basic principle that has guided this nation from its very beginning has been the rights of individuals. The slow erosion of any of those rights will alter everything this nation is about