By Jennifer Burke
TPNN Contributor
The Obama Administration has demonstrated repeatedly the love of the phrase “We must do something.” This phrase has been used to tug at the heartstrings of Americans during our most fragile of times. The cost, however, has been great ranging from an infringement on our God-given rights to a usurpation of our Constitution, to the indebtedness of the people and the financial ruin of our nation. Today, during hearings related to the government’s continued attack on our Second Amendment rights, with testimony on the merits of gun control, we heard those words ‘we must do something’ again.
It is bad enough that the loss of the innocent lives of children is being used to guilt people into turning their backs on the Constitution and giving up their rights, but today those words came from someone whose own tragic story conservatives and liberals alike were touched by. Former Rep. Gabrielle (Gabby) Giffords (D-AZ) had her life changed in a tragic way when she was shot nearly point blank by a deranged madman while holding a community meeting in Tucson. In what can only be described as miraculous, Rep. Giffords survived. Though her life may never be the same, she has learned to do a number of things again. Her strength and resolve should serve as an inspiration to us all. What I vehemently disagree with, however, is her tragedy, or that of anyone else, being used to bully states into giving up their sovereignty and guilting the people into surrendering our God-given rights.
During her testimony, Giffords read from handwritten notes, notes that were incidentally written by her therapist, and that I’m sure touched the hearts of many.
“Thank you for inviting me here today. This is an important conversation for our children, for our communities, for Democrats, and Republicans. Speaking is difficult but I need to say something important. Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying – too many children. We must do something. It will be hard. But the time is now. You must act. Be bold. Be Courageous. Americans are counting on you. Thank you.”
Giffords is correct that violence is a big problem. But what she and so many others have failed to address is that no amount of outlawing guns, no heightened level of infringement on our rights will change that. There are two key points to keep in mind when it comes to this attitude of “we must to something” to address gun related violence.
First, criminals don’t obey the laws. That is why they are criminals. Applying stringent, Second Amendment stifling gun laws to the populace will simply put law-abiding citizens at a disadvantage and give the criminals the upper hand. Look at Chicago, which has some of the strictest gun control, or should I say lack of control, laws in the nation. It is also one of the America’s most violent cities with 532 people losing their lives due to guns in 2012 and 40 people shot dead already in the first 30 days of 2013.
Second, when you have a society that does not value life, then you will have a rampant problem with people who are willing to take a life away, whether it is through the use of a gun or another means. Since the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre on December 14, 2012, many people have blamed anything and everything from video games to movies failing to place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the responsible party; the shooter and the decision they made. But, that’s what happens in a society devoid of morality where the norm is to absolve people from personal responsibility.
There is no such thing as gun violence. Guns are inanimate objects that on their own are harmless. In order for the gun to be dangerous, there must be a human on the other end with their finger on the trigger. But, when the norm is to be reactive with the idea to “never let a crisis go to waste”, then elected officials and even everyday citizens will take that opportunity to “just do something” even if it means stripping you of your rights.
This type of emotionalized, reactionary governance is both dangerous and disturbing. It is dangerous because it is clear that there is no plan; just a ‘feel good’ decision that may or may not eliminate the problem. When President Obama used Executive Actions to begin the process of stripping away our Second Amendment rights, his rationale was based upon nothing but feelings and living in the world of ‘ifs’.
Because while there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there’s even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try.
Using this logic, we could save more lives by banning cars and swimming pools.
It is disturbing because it indicates that we have so called leaders who aren’t truly interested in leading, but rather in using tragedy to push an agenda, using means that are completely antithetical to the oath of office that they take to uphold and protect the Constitution. Even more disturbing is the fact that Obama used the Communistic code word ‘collective’ in an effort to convince us in his inauguration speech that our rights are simply not worth fighting for.
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.
Founding Father James Madison, main author of the Constitution, had it right when he said, “Crisis is the rallying cry of the tyrant.” We must not allow the latest ‘crisis du jour’ to be used by opportunistic politicians to attack our God-given freedoms. This includes the Second Amendment.