The gun debate rages on and on

The “great gun debate” rages on, and on, and on. When it will end no one knows, and for many of us it can’t be too soon. It can end with some very serious concerns for our freedom if the likes of Vice President Joe Biden has his way. His comments about defending one’s home will probably be classics in years to come — and remember this is a guy that considers himself presidential material. Maybe no one is listening to him, at least we haven’t heard any random shot gun blasts in our neighborhood.

But seriously, the main sticking point seems to be background checks for individuals buying guns at gun shows and in private sales. That sounds logical; who wants guns in the “wrong hands?” Defining the “wrong hands,” however, seems to be a major obstacle and based on the fact that approximately 80 percent of Americans don’t trust the government (see last week’s article), who would want the government keeping track of how many guns they own, bought recently, or gave as gifts to a family member? After the federal government failed to keep track of the weapons sold in the “Fast and Furious” fiasco, even allowing one of them to get into the hands of the “wrong people” who used it to kill an American border agent, how many of us have a lot of faith in their efforts to develop a data base for use in background checks?

So many of the questions fall into the area of our freedom to own guns, why we want to own them and the desire for privacy. A lot has been written about the confiscation of guns in foreign countries and the subsequent dictatorships, etc. It seems the Nazi takeover of Germany prior to World War II should be lesson enough for everyone. The more our government gets involved in control of gun registration, the greater the threat of that being possible in our country.

As an observer and one wanting to protect my Second Amendment rights, the outcome of all this posturing by our legislators in Washington and the president seems too political. It seems they, (the ones who will ultimately decide the final proposals) are too busy making this a political party power struggle. It will affect compromise on other areas of legislation — budgets, alien legal status, etc. — in behind the scene deals leading up to who wins what struggle to gain the most overall advantage in power.

The president’s use of the parents from Newtown, Conn., was an interesting move in trying to bring that tragedy back into focus. Could this be deemed “political manipulation?” The news indicated they spent several days trying to put pressure on legislators from several states with their presence. It seems the fact that the shooter in Newtown had a history of mental illness gets overlooked and instead of directing our attention to keeping guns out of the hands of those with that history, the number of bullets in a gun’s magazine becomes a central part of the debate. Whatever Washington finally agrees on in settling this debate, it will not bring back the victims of gun violence. And, as we saw recently in the community college in Texas, a weapon such as a knife in the hands of a person who suffers from mental illness can be frightening.

What we have succeeded in doing is getting a debate about guns on school campuses started and there are definitely strong arguments to be made on that issue for either side. But, the really big winners are the gun dealers who have seen the price of new and/ or used guns skyrocket. I’ve learned more about the AR15 rifle than I ever wanted to know just from the news media’s reports on television concerning availability and price escalation. And, with all the attention and all the current laws, no one has solved the problem of getting the criminals to recognize they are breaking the law when they buy on the street. Isn’t there a law already on the books making it illegal for a felon to possess a firearm?

As a citizen just like you, I am concerned at what is going on in our great nation. And that concern includes our inability to solve serious issues in a meaningful, non-politicalparty environment. Please note I didn’t use the term “bipartisan manner.” The conditions which our nation must overcome are far too important to be watered down by any purely political interests.

••• Editor’s note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at prtnews@nwaonline.com.