DC Gun Laws

The SCOTUS ruled on the definition of the 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights. "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" As of June 26, 2008 that means that the citizens, in good standing with the state and federal government (not convicted criminal, etc.) have the right to bare arm. This is a major victory for gun proponents and a loss for others who wanted stricter regulation.

District of Columbia v. Heller was brought before the courts by a man named Heller (obviously) because he didn't feel safe and able to protect himself or his family from DC's crime. He was a security guard who had to relinquish his side arm every time he left work. As part of his case, he noted bullet holes outside of his door.

So I know this is a controversial issue. And frankly, I'm not exactly sure where I fall on this issue. Here's what I do I do know. Adding more guns to a city already considered to be a violent city might not be the best answer. It could simply make weapons more accessible to the criminals. But yes, I do understand the deterent factor. What I don't know are the numbers for how many crimes were commited or detered because the criminal was intimidated by his intended victim's gun. (I don't think this data is available or would be 100% accurate if there was something... mostly because what criminal would report, 'yea, I thought about it, but his 9 millimeter stopped me.)

And yes, I've been shooting, once. I was pretty angry at the time. (Probably not the best time to have decided to do target practice, but those of you who know what I'm referencing know the entire story) But me and a friend took a stuffed rabbit that had been given to me (and was no longer wanted) to his family's farm. I think I put 70 some rounds into it and it felt liberating. In fact, I still have a bullit from this excursion in my desk. When we picked up the rabbit, this bullit was stuck to the rabbits face.

So, that's my only hands on experience with guns. Generally, they scare me. It seems so easy for something to happen.

Okay, so back to DCs hand gun laws being reversed. To me, violent crime is a symptom of poverty, economic hard times, family hardships, to name a few. So if there's an issue of crime, wouldn't it make more sense to actually go in and fix the problem and deter crime from the get go rather than on the back end? It's like putting a band aid on a wound that needs surgery and stitches. The wound won't heal properly.

I guess I'm not anti gun... not on the whole. I do think there needs to be stricter regulations. For example, the fact that you can buy a gun at a gun show without background checks is incomprehensible to me. And I think there should be locks that make it harder for anyone other than the owner to use. (i.e. kids or criminals can't use the weapon) But I do understand the need for a free society to bare arms. I mean, this country wouldn't exist if it's citizens didn't own firearms. Granted, that was a different time because weapons weren't only used for protection, but also for a tool when hunting.

So many things have also changed our attitudes towards weapons-- movies, video games, music videos, etc. We all know what it would look like for a gangsta to shoot a gun (held on its side) as well as how to properly hold a gun when aiming. If nothing else, Duck Hunt taught us that. I guess we don't strictly see a gun as a tool, a dangerous tool at that, but something of status and in some cases popularity.

That's my two cents. Since I work in the district, and live a block outside, it should be interesting to see what happens.