Exactly one year ago today, the free world lost one of its most relentless defenders, and certainly its most eloquent. Christopher Hitchens may have succumbed to cancer and its related complications, but I find myself returning to his words time and again as though they have a kind of immortal verve to them. I remember Hitchens’s mentioning that he tried to write for posterity, and, looking back, one does sense timelessness running through many of his essays and columns.
Which brings me to this: Did you know that Hitchens despised gun control? It’s true, and it was not a position he adopted only after his “neocon” turn. Writing way back in his socialist days, in 1994, Hitchens derided gun control as “half-baked pacifism that…has as its corollary a duopoly of force in the hands of the state and the criminal.” He also reserved contempt for the suggestion that those who favored private gun ownership were all cowboy wannabes:
“A favorite liberal sneer at the opponents of gun control is the suggestion that those who favor self-defense are fixated on the Old West and the imagined tradition of the lone gunslinger.”
He didn’t simply hold this position when it was safe to do so. After the Virginia Tech massacre, Hitchens was interviewed by Slate editor Jacob Weisberg and, after the issue of gun control was raised, he said the present laws were adequate since shooting people is already illegal.
Another late leftist who opposed gun control was Alexander Cockburn. Writing after Virginia Tech, Cockburn derided the “anti-gun lobby” and advocated the arming of “appropriately screened teachers and maybe student monitors.” He also suggested that “what should be banned from campuses are not weapons but prescriptions for anti-depressants.”
When the Communists take over a country, an early agenda item is to confiscate all the guns in private hands. The Communists are okay with overthrowing a government, but not so agreeable to being overthrown, themselves.
Our Founders were well aware of the ever present possibility of governmental tyranny. Our First Amendment guarantees speech, press, and religion. Our Second Amendment guarantees our right as individual citizens in a free society to keep and bear arms for self defense, societal defense, and, if tyranny raises its ugly head, to cut it off through armed revolution. Ask yourselves, why did those insisting upon a Bill of Rights as a condition of ratifying the U.S. Constitution give gun ownership such a high priority in it? Wisdom and prescience.
As for the deeply sad incident in Connecticut, we need to ask the question, “Why don’t these mass murderers express their anger and frustration at the world by attacking a local police station?” Because there are guns there in the hands of people who know how to use them.
The solution to gun violence in schools is to train teachers in the safe and effective use of firearms. We need to have numerous teachers in each school armed and ready. When schools cease to become “gun free zones” then school gun carnage will stop. As deranged as some of these killers are, they all seem to make a very rational calculation—”Let me see. If I would like to kill as many people as possible before taking my own life, or being killed by the police, where will I have the greatest likelihood of success?”
For those “peace loving” pacifists that insist that so many guns, so visible, would be a horrible and dangerous thing, take a trip to Israel. Many, if not every citizen soldier carries a loaded firearm. And, by the way, very little mayhem from gun violence.
God save our Republic.
Israel is a very different situation. There is much more open armed security and Americans are amazed at the soldiers with their rifles at McDonald’s. They do not have gun shops there where anyone can just buy a pistol or rifle. To get a permit as a civilian you need to pass tests including psychological exam and show a need. There is a whole different culture about guns there.
I am not sure what will happen here but I sense a point where something is going to give. These horrible mass shootings are too much for the public to bear. I hope that those of us who are responsible gun owners can help shape that process. Arming everyone is not going to be a workable solution. Most people do not want to need to pack a weapon to go to the grocery store. We have a hard time enough dealing with what we have to deal with already.
I have no idea how to screen for loonies. Even psychiatrists are not very good at predicting who might snap and go violent. Even ordinary common guns like basic shotguns, hunting rifles, or handguns with typical size magazines can result in a massacre like this one. It is the shooter, not the gun.
Problem is if NRA and the rest of the gun owning community does not come up with some kind of reasonable proposal then we will lose by default because the public is sickened and weary and will support anything from the anti gun folks.
I disagree.
All of the gun laws passed in the last 20 years or so, were passed with the help of conservatives/Republicans(RINO’s) trying to be “reasonable”.
Without that support, those laws would not have passed.
I see no reason to run into the arms of the gun banners and give them what they want in an effort to appear “reasonable” and out of fear that worst laws will be passed.
“Problem is if NRA and the rest of the gun owning community does not come up with some kind of reasonable proposal then we will lose by default because the public is sickened and weary and will support anything from the anti gun folks.”
The reasonable solution is an end to the defacto illegalization and ghettoization of gun owners and carrying arms. Nationwide reciprocity for CCW and federal cause for suit against any public or private property owner who predicates the presence of a person or service to that person to that person abandoning their 2nd amendment protected arms, and that person comes to harm as a result of the then inadequate protection that property owner provides.
All not merely reasonable, but essentially prescribes by the Constitution. The rule of law is a great idea, we ought to try it.
“take guns away from criminals, institutionalize the mentally disturbed”
Also good ideas, provided it takes a jury to do either.
In all developed countries, parents teach their children responsibility, morality and right from wrong. Yet gun violence is the worst here in the USA. (Oh wait, you didn’t do so well as a country on a global scale on math/statistics) I am Australian and have lived for 10 years in Canada and five years here in the USA. I love this country. Simply put, the difference is people here have a right to bear arms and they want to exercise that right, it is part of your historical fabric, its who you are, you have a constitution to protect, which is a fine piece of work and worth protecting. And in order to protect it, you are cool with lining up around 8,000 men, women and little children against the wall every year (versus Canada) and pumping them full of bullets – (lucky you are wonderfully loving religious folks who can pray for them and their families to help everyone feel better afterwards).
Don’t try to hide behind the real issue. You are not that special in terms of the mix of bad people. We all have them. The difference is your bad people get their hands on bad weapons. I laugh at this one “A person with the desire to enact death or serious physical injury to someone can just as easily do so with a knife, baseball bat, vehicle, or any other object. Cain slew his brother Abel with a rock.” Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. I know what I would prefer someone holding if they entered a movie theater and started throwing rocks or swinging knives versus unloading an automatic weapon.
I see over 10,000 gun deaths here each year (lets not count the ones who survive – you do well at that and it helps the stats look better – way to go) versus around 180 in Canada each year (1/10 the population)
Just don’t try to hide behind it – admit who you are, what you believe in, be open about what your true values are, grab your holster and move on to the next massacre………..
I don’t own guns to protect the Constitution. If you love this country as you profess, you should spend some time getting to know the culture here. Americans like guns. They are a tangible symbol of our freedom and independence. No offense, but if you can’t deal with that perhaps you’d better go back to Australia or Canada.
“I love this country.”
You have an odd way of showing it.
“The solution to gun violence in schools is to train teachers in the safe and effective use of firearms. We need to have numerous teachers in each school armed and ready.” As if this suggestion would have saved the kids on friday…let me refresh your memory. The first person he killed in the classroom was the teacher. Afff, seriously…it’s hopeless discussing with you Americans. You were all too brainwashed by this twisted educational system of yours, which teaches you nothing but american history, american pop culture, american this, american that. Quit idolizing your centuries old constitution and try looking for new solutions. Maybe look at other countries and study their ways of dealing with the problem. Get out of your safe little bubble Harvard dude!
I favor gun control in stages: first, disarm the criminals and the crazies; second, disarm the body guards of our dear leaders; third, disarm the police since there are no more armed criminals to contend with; fourth, disarm the law abiding citizens.
You favor disarming the criminals and the crazies. How nice for you! You must be aware that the criminals and the crazies will be the LAST to surrender their guns.
Having failed to accomplish Step #1 of your brilliant plan, you want to arm the Secret Service with water pistols! God this is brilliant…
Then you want to disarm the POLICE! Of course, since your plan involves the bad guys disarmed, or shooting rubber bullets ASSUMING THAT WORKS..
Then take EVERYONE’S guns away.
I may have read something more ridiculous in my life, but I can’t recall. You’re about 19, right?
Anon – I think you missed the sarcasmic joke…
You missed “stages”.
Have you ever played video games? You can’t go to higher levels unless you have passed muster in lower levels before Game Over.
You want to apply video game rules to real-life, life and death questions, not to mention constitutional questions? Oh, brother….
In keeping with the season… I think I will retire to Bedlam now.
Bedlam? You are already there.
Got you. didn’t he?
Hook, line and sinker. Well played, elkh1. The point that all the anti-gun people miss: Armed citizen with a badge equals peace officer, armed citizen with out a badge DOES NOT equal crazed, homicidal maniac waiting to happen. Both share an equal duty to serve and PROTECT the innocent, helpless and defenseless, i.e. each other.
Harvard NutJob -
“The solution to gun violence in schools is to train teachers in the safe and effective use of firearms.”
That is hilarious. You really want a country where teachers have to take guns to the classroom? Some country that.
God can’t save the Republic my friend when you have virtually no gun regulation. Your predominately athiest founding fathers got it wrong with the second amendment. Ever thought about that?
150 Americans get shot every day. That’s a country wide problem. 87 die as a result everyday. But to the NRA folks I guess that’s the price of doing business right?
The UK had 58 gun murders last YEAR. Where virtually no-one has guns. Do the math.
The UK had 58 gun murders last YEAR. Where virtually no-one has guns.
per capita?
“since shooting people is already illegal” meaning only people who commit crimes shoot people, meaning only criminals shoot people, yes? If you can’t take guns away from criminals, you are creating a whole country of law abiding sitting ducks.
A suggestion: take guns away from criminals, institutionalize the mentally disturbed.
Yes, and the more they try to ban guns, the more gun crime they have. They enjoyed a 68% increase last year.
Yes – obviously the more you try to ban guns, the more gun crime there is. Hilarious logic. Do they teach that in American universities as fact? hahaha
I didn’t advocate banning all guns. It wouldn’t make any difference in the States.
There are more guns per head of population in Canada than there are in the USA, yet Canadians chose not to shoot each other on the scale Americans do.
Why is that? Don’t know really. But it’s definitely an American psychological issue. I repeat – 150 Americans are shot every day. Arming more people isn’t going to stop that behaviour although it may enable people to defend themselves better.
How do you stop that behaviour in the first place would be the more pertinent question.
Canada does not have nearly as many BLACKS.
Canada has harsher winter (less months of free movement)
If you want to see a microcosm of America in Canada look at Toronto. Where there are BLACKS, there is gun violence.
Of course, there wasn’t a problem with BLACKS in Canada until BET went basic cable. Not to mention the Jamaican welfare sponges (really phucked up BLACKS)
Jonny, it’s counterintuitive, but reality often is.
Gun crime up by almost half in the last year: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8473029.stm
http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/gun-crime
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1223193/Culture-violence-Gun-crime-goes-89-decade.html
Yes, I really want a country where teachers carry guns in the class. Next question?
Virtually no gun legislation in the US? We already have over 20,000 gun laws on the books here. So more gun-control laws are going to stop criminals? Now that’s hilarious logic. Many more crimes are stopped by the lawful use of firearms in this country than are committed with guns. That’s the culture here. It will never change, so get used to it.
if guns are banned outright, the police MUST be included.
it’s very simple logic.. If the bannanans get their way, there is no need for police to have a firearm either. They ARE just glorified civilians.
NOT EVEN SWAT.
Then watch the police cry
What was his objection to antidepressants? They may be overprescribed, but a lot of people genuinely need them.
The usual self-importantly ignorant confusion between depression and other kinds of mental illness.
Very interesting article. http://www.naturalnews.com/036599_gun_control_prescription_drugs_deaths.html
Shootings/gun related deaths compared to prescription drugs. Perhaps we should ban doctors?