Gun debates are at the forefront of political issues. Many liberals believe that the debate is about the “good against the evil.” I believe that this antagonizing rhetoric is one of the reasons that this debate reaches no conclusion.
There is a popular saying in the world of politics. “If you want to have an endless argument, talk about the problem. If you want to have a pleasant discussion, begin by discussing solutions.” The fact of the matter is that the gun debate is a battle against a culture which has bread throughout America for over 200 years. When some liberals label those who disagree with their viewpoint as “evil” – all hope for any sort of cordial discussion is lost. In an article on the New Republic, the author Phoebe Maltz Bovy claims the gun debate is not about a discussion of good or bad gun owners but rather “It’s about placing gun ownership itself in the “bad” category. To simply label gun ownership as a “bad” is a flagrant use of group identity and group guilt. When a mass murderer commits a crime with a gun, this does not mean that all gun owners are responsible for the crime. The logic is more clear when talking about a situation which most people can identify with. A person driving has a lapse of judgement and causes a crash killing another person. While this hypothetical is tragic, it would be ridiculous for anyone to then state that all individuals who drive cars are responsible for that death and therefore we should ban cars.
I understand the argument though. A common representation of the counter is that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” I also believe that this is a ridiculous claim made by gun owners. Of course no one actually believes that guns magically kill people with no human intention behind it, but the issue is that the gun, as a tool, is capable of killing many people at one time. When gun advocates use this logic to defend their viewpoint, it again strangles any sort of true scrutiny on the topic as a whole. I believe that every rational human in America cares about the safety of the country, therefore as a country we must do our best to avoid straw man arguments to support our viewpoints. This discussion is not about winning the argument, it is about finding common ground to fix a problem that has plagued our country and taken innocent lives.
The Washington Post took this approach back in 2015 in their article “America has to do more to prevent gun violence” where they write “No one piece of legislation or policy will solve the problem of gun violence. Many actions are needed.” Believe that an all out ban of guns is the “only way” is disingenuous. Officials and policymakers must look at the situation of gun violence coupled with American culture as a whole to reach a good outcome. I believe that it is rhetoric like this which will solve what feels like a never ending debate and hopefully lead a more safer America.
The Current State of the Second Amendment 