Legal Commentary

Gun Control Laws Are Not The Answer

By Jeralyn

There will undoubtedly be calls for stricter gun control laws as a result of yesterday's shootings in Arizona. We don't need more laws.

Guns did not cause the rage, desperation or mental illness that led the Arizona shooter to kill people. It doesn't take a newsflash to know that people who feel persecuted, bullied, threatened, attacked or injured by others may resort to violence. And all the gun laws in the world won't stop the next person bent on doing the same thing

There's no question that one lone wolf can cause a lot of damage, but putting more resources into prevention, particularly recognizing and treating mental health issues, and funding re-entry programs instead of building more prisons, are far better solutions than putting more laws on the books, ramping up our already massive security programs and increasing the use of privacy-intrusive investigative techniques. [More...]

More gun control laws, more anti-terror laws, and more government surveillance won't make the country one bit safer. They will only make us less free.

Our civil liberties and constitutional rights must be assiduously protected. Once they start to slip, they go quickly. Once we remove them for one group, it becomes easier to do it for the next group. Once we begin making exceptions for catastrophic events, the exceptions will become the rule.

To reduce violence, we must find out what's causing it and address it. Guns do not cause the rage, they are simply the means by which it is expressed. Addressing the cause of the despair, hurt, anger and feelings of helplessness that lead people to resort to violence will do a lot more than passing restrictive gun laws.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 09, 2011 (boomark / email).