A Difference Of Opinion

Seems the lady who wrote the column here doesn't quite see eye-to-eye with me on H.R. 45 or the root causes of some of the crime facing the big cities in this country. I tried to set her straight:

Mrs. Beam-

I just read your piece, “Common Ground on Gun Control” on wiscnews.com. While I find it refreshing that you and your brother-in-law can sit down and discuss a politically charged topic like gun control in a rational and sane manner, I must point out some flaws in your argument for H.R. 45.

First, and most importantly, imposing the same restrictions and licensing requirements on firearms would be in direct contradiction to the Constitution. By supporting this bill, what you advocate is placing a prior restraint on a civil right. The same sort of prior restraint codified in Jim Crow laws by requiring literacy tests to vote, a version of which is required under this bill. “A certificate attesting to the completion at the time of application of a written firearms examination [sec 102 (7)]”.

What is misunderstood, glossed over, or simply ignored is that the crime to which this bill is attributed was committed in the city of Chicago. A city which, since the ban on private ownership in Washington D.C. was found to be unconstitutional, has the most restrictive gun laws in the country. There has been, since the early 1980’s, a complete ban on handgun ownership in the city, with few exceptions. So how was it, that this heroic young man died protecting another, in a city that bans hand guns, with a hand gun?

Your brother-in-law touched on something in your conversation that scratches the surface of the problem. Socio-economic problems play a small part of this, but the larger question that must be asked is this. What has happened during the last 40 yrs to turn our larger urban population centers into killing fields? Is it poverty? Doubtful. Poverty is prevalent all over the country. Rural America, from border to border and sea to sea, has more than it’s share of poverty, yet you don’t see young people shooting each other over the most mundane things. The problem here is cultural. A culture that says it’s ok to sleep with as many women as you can, steal as much as you can, sell as many drugs as you can, and shoot whoever you can is not one conducive to producing productive members of society. This kind of behavior is celebrated, and even rewarded by the rest of the country.

Social policy has taken the fathers out of these homes, telling them it’s ok they don’t have to take responsibility for their actions. Leaving a single mother, sometimes as young as 12 or 13, to fend for themselves or live off the government dole for the rest of their lives. So without a male influence in the home, is it any wonder these children turn to gangs? They offer the stability, respect, and emotional attachment these children crave.

No ma’am, Blair Holts Firearm Licensing and Record Act will not stop what happened to this bill’s namesake. This is proven every time a gun goes off in Chicago. What this bill will accomplish is the disarming of people like your brother, those who will never commit a crime, who shoot for fun or sport, and are generally ambivalent about the whole thing. Until someone shows up to take their guns away because the criminal element in this country cannot be controlled by a social experiment.

If I get a response back, I'll post it.