THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS A SOLUTION TO CRIME
Calls for gun restrictions always follow tragic mass shootings, but the restrictions proposed on sane, trained, lawabiding gun owners won’t solve the problems that cause violent crime.
I’m empathetic to the victims and their loved ones when any life is cut short. I have experienced a tragic family death and understand the pain of losing loved ones. Getting the phone call that your loved one died suddenly is not something that I would wish upon anyone. Because of my personal experience, I want organizations to concentrate on substance over symbolism.
The issue of violent crime lies solely on the individual criminals and not the gun. Gun control advocates, elected Democrats and even some Republican elected officials choose to blame the instrument the killer used: the gun. But it’s not the gun committing the crime, it is the person holding the gun who is committing the crime.
Our ability to defend against violent crime is under attack more than ever, and those who support the Second Amendment have become the target of people’s misplaced ire instead of being seen as a solution.
In June, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office put the safety of gun owners in danger when it leaked personal data of residents who applied for and were granted a concealed-carry weapons permit in the state from 2011-2021 from the state government’s publicly accessible Firearms Dashboard Portal.
Despite Bonta’s apology and claim this was a mistake, it didn’t feel like an “accident” to me. It was not only unprecedented, it was a violation of the personal privacy of many gun owners in California. The leak displayed full names, dates of birth, gender, race, driver’s license numbers, home addresses, criminal histories, gun shop sales records, gun violence restraining orders, firearms safety certificates and a roster of how many certified handguns people owned.
This meant law-abiding California gun owners — including security personnel, law enforcement and prosecutors — with concealed-carry weapon permits had their personal privacy at risk. What’s egregious about this mishap is it’s not just Republicans and freedom-minded individuals who own firearms. Democrats own firearms, too.
While most elected Democrats harp on restrictions on guns, Republican elected officials can fall short as well. In June, Republican House members and senators crossed party lines to implement a nationwide “red flag” law following a series of mass shootings. Gun bans and confiscation are a slippery slope for law-abiding citizens. The states with red flag laws use them to deny access to guns for law-abiding citizens without requiring due process and without requiring judgment in a court of law that a person is a forthcoming danger to self or others. A simple accusation can deprive people of their firearms and force them to spend thousands of dollars in court fees attempting to clear their names. The best next step to help reduce crime and prevent mass shootings on the micro level is to teach individuals gun safety and educate people on how the Second Amendment should be treated, which is that it not be infringed upon. The ability to defend against violent crime is an effective way to reduce the number of victims of violent crime. Isn’t that the goal?
The Second Amendment and gun ownership are about defending life and empowering people. Studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Crime Prevention Research Center have shown that someone in America is protected from or stops a violent crime thanks to owning a gun between 500,000 and 3.6 million times a year. Access to effective self-defense tools like firearms helps the meek and vulnerable in society have a chance against those who seek to do them harm. It is the protection of victims that makes the Second Amendment a crucial tool when discussing ways to prevent violent crime.
Because of the fact that hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of people use a firearm in self-defense every year, and the fact that the vast majority of “mass public shootings” occur in “gun-free zones,” I encourage everyone to support organizations that support your Second Amendment rights.
Locally, the San Diego County Gun Owners is one. It sponsored a shooting social for San Diego Young Republicans in April. Sixteen of our members were paired up with their own trained firearms instructors and mentors. Not only did our members have a great time, they also learned gun safety. I recognize that this isn’t an automatic guarantee that it will produce law-abiding citizens, but there are resources and people available to teach the proper way to exercise the Second Amendment.
The Second Amendment will always be our right, and it’s up to the American people — Republicans, Democrats, libertarians and independents — to exercise it and defend it. Fight for the Second Amendment for those who need to defend their lives against those who would choose to make them victims.