“I need my guns so I can protect myself against the government!”
If you’ve been following the news in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, you’ve probably heard this argument, or some variation of it, in defense of the right to own absurdly powerful guns.
It seems self explanatory at this point in the wake of such tragedy that no one should have the right to own a weapon that can discharge multiple deadly rounds at a near instantaneous rate. When our forefathers wrote the second amendment, they were thinking of muskets. A musket, an M-16, an AR-15 … one of these things is not like the other.
But let’s be honest about the world we live in. Even in the wake of such brutal tragedy, you have people shouting out “Second Amendment rights!” during a testimony by Neil Heslin, father of one of the children killed in the Newtown shooting. People will ignore whatever evidence – however clear – that goes against the views that they have been ingrained with since birth.
With that in mind, it takes a carefully calculated approach to incite change within the political arena in this day and age. When you have a large population vehemently opposed to necessary change for reasons beyond understanding, the only thing you can do is make sure those who agree with you continue to do so and hope to sway those in the middle.
So what can Mr. Obama and those within Congress in agreement with his views do in this regard for more gun regulation?
We don’t have that answer, but we can tell you what they shouldn’t do: Don’t give citizens more reason to fear the government.
Mr. Obama and Congress members shouldn’t affirm the ability of the military to authorize drone strikes on U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism.
NBC News obtained a confidential memo from the Justice Department that authorizes the overseas killing of Americans if they are suspected to be a part of al-Qaida or a similar force. Keep in mind that this comes only a year after Obama signed a bill that would allow the indefinite detention of American citizens.
Allowing the use of robots to kill American citizens, no matter what the justification, seems like a pretty illogical move when you are in the midst of convincing a large portion of said American citizens that they don’t need weapons to protect themselves from the government.
Timing is everything, Mr. Obama. We disagree with your move to allow these drone strikes in the first place, and we think they are counterproductive to your move towards stricter gun control.
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