{"id":826,"date":"2016-06-16T12:57:19","date_gmt":"2016-06-16T19:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/?p=826"},"modified":"2016-06-16T12:57:19","modified_gmt":"2016-06-16T19:57:19","slug":"a-moderate-view-on-guns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/?p=826","title":{"rendered":"A Moderate View on Guns"},"content":{"rendered":"

I want to talk about guns again. \u00a0I’ve talked about them twice<\/a> before<\/a>. \u00a0The responses to those posts were mostly positive. \u00a0I feel a need to talk about them again. \u00a0It’s been several days since the shootings in Orlando, so you may be sick of this topic by now. \u00a0That’s okay. \u00a0I’m writing this for myself as much as I’m writing it for anyone else, to try and work through my emotions around this latest event. \u00a0If you want to skip this entry, I don’t blame you.<\/p>\n

I don’t consider myself a Republican or a Democrat. \u00a0I lean more left than I did when I was younger. \u00a0My conservative friends and family probably see me as a liberal. \u00a0I’m certainly able to find lots of areas of agreement with my liberal friends. \u00a0But one area that I’ve always been more right leaning is guns. \u00a0I’ve always been uncomfortable with the idea of taking away American’s guns, or infringing on the Second Amendment.<\/p>\n

It is important to me that we avoid emotional responses on this issue. \u00a0Knee-jerk reactions are not usually powered by intellect and sweet wisdom. \u00a0That’s the kind of reaction that led to us fighting in Iraq. \u00a0It’s the kind of reaction that led to the Patriot Act, and Guantanamo Bay. \u00a0Smart people can get caught up in that kind of reaction, and then regret it later.<\/p>\n

We are reeling from the worst mass shooting in American history. \u00a0Okay, well, it’s not actually the worst in history<\/a>. \u00a0But it’s the worst in recent memory. \u00a0It was perpetrated by a man that had previously been under Federal suspicion. \u00a0He used an AR-15, bought legally. \u00a0He claimed alignment with ISIS.<\/p>\n

There is so much right there. \u00a0Terrorism. \u00a0Assault rifles. \u00a0The ability to purchase a gun, even when on a No Fly list.<\/p>\n

After recovering from the initial shock, we were inundated with\u00a0second guessing. \u00a0Liberals cried out about the guns. \u00a0Conservatives clutched to their guns, saying it’s all about terrorism. \u00a0Both sides started fighting and name calling, and no actual communication took place, because it’s all emotions, grandstanding, and fear.<\/p>\n

If someone had been armed in the club when the shooting began, would it have made a difference? \u00a0Conservatives say yes. \u00a0Liberals say no.<\/p>\n

If he hadn’t been able to purchase the gun, the tragedy would have been avoided, right? \u00a0Maybe. \u00a0That seems to be the main argument for tighter gun restrictions. \u00a0But the Boston Marathon bombing<\/a>\u00a0didn’t involve a gun. \u00a0I don’t think Ted Kacynski<\/a> used guns. \u00a0If Omar Mateen had been scoping out the club weeks before the attack, who’s to say that he wouldn’t have tried something that didn’t involve bullets?<\/p>\n

My initial reaction, after the sadness for the loss of innocent lives, is to side with the conservatives. \u00a0But we’ve had so many mass shootings<\/a>. \u00a0A call to make a change is not an emotional reaction. \u00a0It is the reasonable thing to do.<\/p>\n

At the risk of upsetting the quasi-religious reverence given to the Second Amendment, let’s look at what it means to restrict guns in the US. \u00a0Already, you can’t just have any gun you want<\/a>. \u00a0I’m not talking about nuclear missiles or weapons of mass destruction. \u00a0I’m talking about the kind of weapon you might\u00a0think was used in Orlando. \u00a0To quote:<\/p>\n

NFA weapons are weapons that are heavily restricted at a federal level by the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986. These include automatic firearms (such as machine guns), short-barreled shotguns, and short-barreled rifles. Some states and localities place additional restrictions on such weapons.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, we know that there are already some restrictions on what constitutes a legal firearms. \u00a0That makes me think that the conversation about greater restrictions is going to go one of two ways.<\/p>\n