It goes without saying that the Aurora and Sikh temple shootings, and the increased coverage of lower-level shootings, have re-opened the gun control debate. We supporters of the 2nd Amendment have momentum on our side, and I'm confident that nothing big will happen, at least on the federal level, for some time (even if Barack Obama gets a second term, he still has congress to worry about).
But on Facebook, Twitter, and around the dinner table, we are still subject to the knee-jerk contentions of the anti-gun folks that new laws are needed, ostensibly to prevent future mass shootings. Preventing mass shootings is a noble goal, of course, since they are horrible things, but I thought of an analogy the other day that I think has some merit.
How many of these anti-gun types are ok with the TSA? It, like the theoretical neo-assault weapons ban proposed by the antis, was formed and gained power as a result of a horrific mass killing. It can't be denied that a terrorist act on the level of 9/11 on American soil has not occurred since the post-9/11 increases in airport security, so the TSA "works." But at what cost? Everyone's heard the horror stories of kids getting touched and Grandma getting her colostomy bag pulled out. We've all grown accustomed to taking our shoes off and holding our hands over our heads for the full-body scan. At the very least we've wasted hours in long lines. And it doesn't really work, does it? It works like Lisa Simpson's rock that keeps tigers away. It's security theater, the efficacy of which is questionable at best. How many gun control advocates are ok with this?
Because it's the same thing. It's depriving me of my rights in the name of a nebulous level of "safety." And my right to bear arms is a whole hell of a lot stronger than my right not to be fondled at the airport.
I'm going to venture a guess that anti-gun types, like most of us, are not fans of the TSA. This is because they fly and have seen its uselessness firsthand. Often, however, they don't have the same level of familiarity with guns. Guns to them are scary things with the autonomous power to kill on their own. I think that if all responsible firearm owners introduced only a handful of newbies to the sport we'd see a big change in public perception, and a lot less knee-jerk Bloombergian calls for increased gun control every time some idiot criminal does something stupid.
