My Stand on Gun Control by Randy Rowley

People frequently ask me what my stance is on such and such gun control bill.  To make things easier for me and the inquiries I have put on thoughts down on electronic paper.

All gun control is about controlling legal gun owners who have done nothing wrong and who probably never will do anything wrong.  It’s not about the guns – it’s about control.  Look at the states and cities with the most gun control – Washington D.C., Detroit, Chicago, New York, etc. and you’ll see that it’s safer to walk down the streets in Afghanistan than it is to do so in one of those cities.  The more gun control that they impose the worst crime becomes.  The states and cities that have the least amount of gun control have the least amount of crime.

In his book called More Guns – Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws by John R. Lott, Jr., Mr. Lott statistical proof that locales with more guns and less control have far less crime than those with fewer guns and more control.  Criminals are much less likely to target a random victim in a gun friendly locale because that victim might be armed and prepared to fight back.  Countries that have banned common guns (Australia, Canada, Great Britain, etc.) have seen their crime rates soar after banning those guns.  The criminals know that their victims won’t be armed and are, therefore, brazen.

Most gun control bills are asinine.  The author/supporters are attempting to make it such a hassle to do anything with a gun that you’ll just throw up your hands and voluntarily surrender them to the authorities out of fear that you’ll violate one of these ridiculous provisions and become fined or worse.

Some very bad bills have passed and been enacted.  Colorado, for example, passed a bill that would make it where a citizen could be charged with the same crime that another citizen commits who legally purchased a gun from him.  So, in Colorado, if I sell you a gun and you go rob a bank both you and I would be charged with robbing the bank.  This is the stupidest thing that I have ever heard and I’ve heard a lot of stupid things.  Imagine if they expand that to include cars, knives, baseball bats, hammers, or any or thing.  I sell you a car and you run a red light so we’re both ticketed!

I am confident that when a case in Colorado where an innocent man is charged with another’s crime, just for selling him the gun, is brought before the Supreme Court it will be struck down.  They have to – it goes against our most basic tenet of jurisprudence – you cannot be charged with another person’s crime.

What has and is happening in Colorado is retailers are no longer selling guns to anyone.  They cannot take a chance that someone will commit a crime and then the employee who sold the gun will be charged with the same crime.  This law effectively ended the selling of guns in Colorado.  It is a direct violation of the Second Amendment and cannot stand.  It must not stand.  Several weapons manufactures and hunting outfits have already pulled out of that formerly conservative state.

When our founders created the Bill of Rights the average citizen owned the exact same weapons as soldiers in the army did.  There were no restrictions on ownership.  Period.  There should be none today.

Look at Switzerland.  In Switzerland every able bodied man must serve in the military for a minimum of 300 days.  When they are discharged they get to keep their assault rifle and are expected to retain it, maintain it, and use it in defense of their country, if the need arises.  Therefore, no one, not even the Nazis messed/messes with Switzerland.  Japan did not invade us after Pearl Harbor, because Admiral Yamamato (the mastermind of the attack) knew that with so many U.S. citizens owning guns “there would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.”

If I was in charge of the world gun ownership would be mandatory, expect for criminals and people with mental illness.  Then everyone would be on the same level as the criminals.

My answer to atrocities like Sandy Hook (besides criminals establishing a personal relationship with Jesus) is to make the punishment for crimes swift, sure, and severe.  For example, here is Austin we have plenty of light poles along IH 35, 183, Ben White, etc.  These light poles would be perfect to hang criminals who have committed capital crimes from.  Imagine driving down 183 like I do five days a week to go to work and seeing 20 dudes swinging from ropes.  It would make people think very hard if they knew that their crimes would end at the bottom of a rope.

And I’m not just talking about gun crimes.  Drunk drivers, for example, should be charged with attempted murder (I see no difference between a drunk endangering a random bunch of people with a 4,000 lb. steel missile than a drunk who empties a clip from his AR randomly in his neighborhood).  First offenders found guilty would face a minimum of 20 years in prison with no possibility of parole.  Second offenders found guilty would get life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.

Sure, we would have to build more prisons, but it will give the existing prisoners something to do.  Eventually people would stop drinking and driving, or committing other crimes, as it wouldn’t be worth the penalty if one was caught.

Probably most people are glad that I’m not in charge of the world.