Another mass shooting today. At least fourteen people killed. Is there anyplace safe anymore? How long before we can't go to the grocery store or the Post Office without looking over our shoulder, wondering if someone is going to start a shooting spree?
No matter what your stance on guns is, I think it's safe to say that things have gotten out of hand. I stand by the 2nd Amendment and don't think rounding up all the guns we can find and locking them away would solve anything. If someone really wants a gun, they'll find a way to get a gun. Or, to put it more broadly, if someone really wants to wreak havoc and destruction and ruin a bunch of people's lives, they'll find a way to do that.
But the 2nd Amendment talks about more than just "the right to keep and bear arms." Everyone quotes that little tidbit but can anyone quote the entire amendment? It says: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
I'd like to call your attention to the words "well regulated." Our Founding Fathers believed having a militia (at its core, the word militia simply refers to civilians who are armed, as opposed to people who are armed as a profession, such as soldiers or police officers) was necessary for our country's security and freedom but felt compelled to use the words "well regulated" to describe such a militia.
So how do we interpret "well regulated"? How do we know when we've met the requirements of "well regulated" when it comes to gun laws? I have no idea. But I think it's past time our country stopped limiting its discussion of this issue to "the right to keep and bear arms" and started expanding it to include the entire 2nd Amendment. Many people think this is a Republican vs. Democrat issue. Or a civilized city dweller vs. rural redneck issue. But it's not. It's a HUMAN issue.
As long as human beings are killing each other for sport (Hunger Games, anyone?), we need to be able to discuss it as a human issue. I'm tired of finger pointing. I'm tired of inflammatory rhetoric. There's a whole lot of gray between the black and white of "everyone must own a gun, no restrictions" and "no guns ever, anywhere." I'd like to see our country's leaders put more effort into finding solutions somewhere in that gray area.
And one more thing. If this is a HUMAN issue, we would all do well to remember our humanity. We're all people. We all have hopes and dreams and people we love. We're all frail and weak, strong and courageous at the same time. But when someone disconnects from humanity, I think maybe that's when killing others (or even just hearing about them being killed) suddenly doesn't seem like that big of deal.
Don't ever think it's no big deal.
Exodus 20:13: "You shall not murder."
It is so hard to keep hearing about all the people being killed. How can we not do something?! Anything! Nothing will stop all the violence but that doesn't mean we don't try!
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