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That the U.S. president has himself formally announced within the past few days a demand for the U.S. federal legislature to propose new guidelines for the control on the issue of firearms, specifically small arms and assault weapons, by the middle of January 2013 indicates that the executive branch at least has eyes and ears focused on tragedies such as that at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, and now that of a few days ago at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school. The attitude (now that this business has to stop) of most federal officials to date about the banning or control of different types of firearms to date has seemed to be one of deferral of any definitive, collective (even familial among the bureaucrats we all know,) or more well – mediated and well – advised rules and guidelines around small arms and their sale and use, probably due to the clash of public influences over gun control dating back many years. The issue against new and further controls, whatever their overall guidelines and / or provisions might be, must have to do with the ease with which gun rules overall anywhere are circumvented and violated; something that needs to be acknowledged and with the federal community identifying related systemic responsibilities, indeed an impossible task, for the overall lack of efficacy of present gun rules with respect to violent crime. This is called for even though at this modern time in American history, violent crime is down and / or trending down in many places.
Given the U.S. president’s insistence that gun control laws be revised given this latest violent tragedy, a further difficulty in passing and implementing, even enlisting help in the writing of such laws and their various regulations and guidelines in view of current resolutions are the right of adults in America to bear arms and related freedoms that are among the fundamental principles of our republic, and in the view of many, among the documented principles that have made America a great country. Certain types of firearms that are sold person – to – person, either across a gun counter or at shows or other markets, and of which there are an overwhelming number of different types, do indeed need to be better controlled as these arms are made for sporting uses, pretty much only, but have proliferated greatly, and are in fact intentionally used in armed and violent crimes. Examining this in any new set of rules should probably be chapter one in any application of the federal legislature in a law sent for passage and executive approval. With this in mind, one would do well to contact local Congressional representatives in any area of the country with opinions, stories, missive and the like, as apparently everyone in the federal legislature, Congressmen and Senators alike, will be voting on the new gun control rules after rules are drafted for approval by same. With well – reasoned legislation in view of the more modern societal imperatives that call for such reform, gruesome, violent, and uncontrolled, horrendous tragedies such as those in Newtown recently will be further avoided, especially considering any provisions in the new law(s) calling for certification of the owners of firearms outside those in public safety, the militia, and other law enforcement and military, that have their own approval methods for those actually physically handling firearms of different kinds.
The victims of violent tragedies, such as those at Sandy Hook elementary school a few days ago, no longer have a voice to express outrage over what happened to them, much less can they pronounce the primal scream that such violence and outrage against them invites while touching upon the horror of the mortal offenses committed on them. There are many details to continue to examine, including issues like the mental condition and character of the single perpetrator of the school shooting, what drugs he was taking and their related effects and side effects, and the slippery slope that led to his explosively violent and definitive and extremely malevolent act on innocents who were blind to his own, possibly self - loathing and uncontrollably ill – willed actions in their midst. Any rules that arise as the result of this and similar previous tragedies, and there have been too many, should address not just simply a principled “assault weapons ban,” but proceed further into the culture of the offensive use of firearms, of whatever type, versus those used by responsible adults as a deterrent or for sporting purposes, especially considering the topic of small arms. Counter to this, again, is the background of sporting and other types of gun enthusiasts who are responsible gun owners and users, and who would possibly be severely impacted by additional controls on their hobbies and pursuits that would technically place them in the same arena legally as those uncontrollably violent, sometimes traumatized, or psychotic or psychopathic perpetrators who have grossly abused their rights to use a firearm, and through wrongful and lethal use of a gun, deliberately (and the language is non – technical here) destroyed the rights and lives of others in the process. Any future gun rules given the tragedies of which we are now anew and well aware need to reach down to the individual user, any culture or sub – culture in the world of firearms, and to American society as a whole as far as the systemic legal awareness of this issue and any relatted public awareness is concerned.
For excellent commentary / editorial, see also: CNN “Situation Room” – December 22, 2012; Wolf Blitzer’s Blog.
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