On Gun Control

That gun is obviously fake. Looks like they've already done their job.

So some, I'm assuming, psychopath shoots up a crowded theater in Aurora, Colorado. In the days following, we mourn the lost and ponder the obvious question: "how could something like this possibly happen?" The popular answer on the political left is "no significant forms of gun control" and, boy, does it make some people's head's explode over on the right.

We have this debate over and over again and it seems to go nowhere. Each side has statistics, hyperbole, and catch-phrases to throw at the other. For example, Pat Toomey said in 2010 that "my idea of gun control is steady aim." The left typically responds to such remarks by calling them "insensitive" or any of the other 50 words that mean the same thing as insensitive.

I have very mixed feelings on gun control. The basic concept seems to make sense: restricted access to gun = less violent crime. I'm not so sure anymore. Violent crime continues to fall in the United States, despite any serious, widespread gun control measures. The reason? The linked article claims it's "improved law enforcement strategies" and longer prison sentences, i.e. our monstrous police state. Which is even more frightening to me than any lone gunman, but I digress. Now, I'm not one to agree with the right-wing on anything: especially since their efforts to turn a fairly moderate Democratic president (who supports ideas from the Heritage Foundation) into a America hating, soldier disrespecting, Socialist, and their tendency to start every argument with "But the Bible says..." Nonetheless, I regrettably must kinda sorta throw my lot in with them on this one. Well, at least partly. Unless a national measure is proposed, not much will change. The District of Columbia banned handguns, but plenty of weapons were still available and easy to acquire in neighboring states. And there's, of course, the old retort of "criminals often follow the law, don't they?" As far as national gun control action goes, there is evidence that very restrictive gun ownership laws does help fight crime. For example, Germany and the UK are much lower homicide rates than the US. However, compare that with this Telegraph article from 2010 that claims England has a worse crime rate than the US overall. Would you take that trade?

Truth is, I've always felt a little uncomfortable around gun nuts and guns in general. You know, since the primary goal of a firearm is to kill motherfuckers. I had a .22 rifle as a kid and I used to be a pretty good shot. Anything more serious than that makes me a bit queasy. I like holding guns, but don't really like firing them. They're really loud and I'm not much for the smell of gunpowder. It's just not something I'm into. I'm also not sure why gun owners are so paranoid. Grand Wizard... err... President of the NRA Wayne LaPierre recently claimed that President Obama's relative silence on the issue is pure strategy: he intends to come straight for your gun in his second term. Which, to me, speaks volumes about the movement's cognitive ability and raises some general ethical concerns. I wonder if NRA members fantasize about defending their home and family from government agents sent by the evil "potentially dictatorial" black President to take away their firearms? Not very hard to imagine.

That said, the vast majority of gun owners and collectors aren't violent criminals. They're just a group of people with a passion and a constitutional amendment to back it up. These random shooting sprees are much rarer than your run-of-the-mill homicide, but both do get a whole lot of press. All you have to do is flip on your local news station for your nightly murder/weather updates. If you kill one non-important regular-ass person, you'll get on local TV for a night and maybe another day or so when you go to court and get sentenced. Seems the more people who kill, the more press you get. We have no idea why this man decided to open fire in a crowded public place on the evening of one of the biggest film premieres of the year... oh wait, maybe we do.

His name is James Holmes and he brought some guns to a packed movie theater... And you now know his name. Did you know it before? Did you know what his face looked like? You'll be seeing a lot of it in the future. And even after he's executed for his crimes or simply left to rot in prison, you'll still hear about him.

Yup. This guy.

He got exactly what he wanted. Legitimate mental issues notwithstanding.