THE QUESTION OF GUNS

Not just the people in the town itself, but all around the world there was shock at the shooting in the cinema in Aurora, Colorado.  I have seen reports about it in papers in China, India and Europe.  To all it seems incredible that someone could just walk into a cinema while people are watching a film, and shoot at random anyone who happened to move.  I seem to remember - though I don't have the exact figures in front of me at the moment - that twelve people died and some seventy were wounded.  What seems even more incredible to me, is that an ordinary citizen in America - or anywhere else for that matter - could be able to buy and stockpile the amount of firearms and ammunition the suspect in that case did.  It is both horrifying and scary.

I am not a gun lover in any sense of the word.  I have literally never even held a gun and have no intention of doing so.  On the other hand, on a couple of occasions in my life I have been accosted, threatened and even shot at by guns of varying sizes.  The last time being an occasion many conveniently like to forget as it was an embarrassment to the police.  It was not too long after I moved to Hawaii as Rector of a church on the island of Kauai.  At that time drugs were rife on the island and were even being sold in the church car park. One lunchtime I approached (maybe stupidly) a small truck that was parked there and was obviously selling drugs to those who came by.  I told the driver to leave, but of course he ignored my request and instead produced a gun.  It was a decidedly tense few minutes as far as I was concerned, but he finally drove off and I called the police.  The police never arrived for the simple reason we found out later, that some of the Drug Special Police Force were themselves involved in selling drugs.  But I am happy to say, the Mayor of Kauai at that time very soon afterwards cleaned up the Force and all was well.

I like to make it clear always when I write - before people write back and curtly remind me themselves - that I am not American and I do not live there.  However, I did live there for some twenty years, and in all that time and since, I have never understood the desire of people to have guns in their homes.

I know the Constitution of the United States says that people have the right to bear arms.  Fair enough, but it has to be understood that it was written at around the time when the country had been having  troubled times with the war with England.  There is no war going on there at the moment so far as I am aware, and yet in the few days since the shooting spree at that cinema in Aurora, the sale of guns in that town - including assault weapons and automatic weapons - has risen by 41%!!  To me that is absolutely scary.  Are many people in that town now planning to go to the cinema carrying assault weapons?  Just imagine what could happen if someone caused an alarm of some sort.

I may be told it is none of my business as I no longer live in the United States - be that as it may - but I still have a right to express an opinion and it is this.  I have little objection in most cases to people having a hand gun if they live in dangerous areas or if people live alone.  I have no objection or problem if people hunt and have a gun for that purpose, but can someone tell me why should a person have either an assault weapon or an automatic weapon in their house even for the purpose of hunting?  Shoot a deer with an assault weapon and you will have very little of the deer left to cook later on.  Use either an assault weapon or an automatic rifle in your home and the chances are not only will an intruder be blown to smithereens, but more than likely a couple of members of your family will not be in a good condition either.   America is not Somalia, Afghanistan. Iraq or Syria, so why the necessity for these weapons in private hands?

In 2008 when Mr. Obama was running for the Presidency and before that when he was campaigning to be Senator, he spoke out forcefully in support of gun control and especially against assault weapons and automatic rifles.  Now he has completely reversed that view even in light of the Aurora shooting.  There has been no reason given for his reversal.  Could it be that if he didn't reverse his view, the all-powerful National Rifle Association would not contribute to his campaign?   Mr. Romney when he was Governor of Massachusetts, also spoke out vehemently against assault weapons, but he too has now reversed his position and says nothing.  Does politics over-ride public safety?

Then it is not only the politicians who say nothing.  Little has been said by any of the church leaders apart from saying "Our prayers and thoughts are with you at this time". Nothing wrong with those words and they should be said, but at the same time it seems none of the church leaders to date, seem to have spoken out about being more circumspect in the issuing of guns.  Are they also afraid of being politically incorrect and offending some of their wealthy and powerful members?  If so it is a sad state of affairs.

As I said above, I have little problem with the "right to bear arms" when it is just for the purpose of self protection and for hunting purposes.  But if you translate that "right" in such loose terms that you include a person's right to carry around assault weapons, then you cannot stop there.  You have to continue.  Machine guns and tanks both come into the category of weapons or arms.  Does a person have the right to have a tank or a machine gun in their front garden and then say it is their right and it is for protection?  You are on very dangerous ground. 

What is the saying?  "Don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk" or something similar.  Something has to be done to control the situation regardless of the fact that it might mean a smaller contribution from the National Rifle Association or whomever.   People matter more than weapons and contributions to campaigns and not only the politicians, but leaders in other spheres have to recognize that also.

P.S.  Since posting all the above, I have seen that Mr. Obama, speaking in New Orleans said he would pursue "common sense" measures to make sure mentally unbalanced people cannot get their hands on guns.   A fair comment, but nobody who knew the suspect in the Aurora case ever said that before the shooting they thought he was mentally unbalanced, so how do you pursue such measures?  Mr. Obama also said he did not believe AK-47's belonged on the streets of the cities.  Fair enough, but he did not say he would do anything about it.  We will have to wait and see.