Guns In America

Much has been written about the issue of gun rights / gun control in this country. We have had several vigorous discussions on this topic within our local blogosphere, and much of what is said here seems reflective (on both sides) of how the issue is being discussed throughout the nation. Both sides always try to ground their argument to the U.S. Constitution, especially the Second Amendment. Now I certainly don’t dismiss the constitutional view. In fact, it is of paramount importance because it represents the law - as it is currently written. But there is another view which should also be considered just as well, which is that of common sense.

Imagine that we were all coming together today to form a new nation, and it’s laws. Imagine that we have no existing constitution to guide us for a moment, and then, let’s begin to discuss the issue from there. One would hope that any laws derived at through this method would closely resemble those laws which already do exist today. If not, then this proves that the current laws lack common sense (or perhaps just those who interpret them are lacking.)

I think the founders of this nation realized that such a schism between the standing law and common sense could easily occur. Times change, so it is simply ridiculous to think that all the issues of the modern-day world could have even been conceived of over two hundred years ago when the Constitution was written. People also change, and it is likely that if the people of today were writing a new constitution from scratch, it would likely diverge from our existing document in many ways. And this is why the founders allowed mechanisms for altering the Constitution, the means of which is provided for in Article Five of the Constitution itself.

So, my thoughts here about guns stem mostly from what I think the law should be, not what it actually is. It may be that the way I think the law should be is significantly different than the way it actually is. If a large percentage of the population were in agreement with my sentiments on the subject, then that would indicate that perhaps we should be discussing whether the law needs to be changed, rather than simply trying to interpret it. If you wish to reply to this, please don’t cite the Second Amendment. Just explain where you agree or disagree with my beliefs and my logic.

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Okay, after writing to the point where my words were getting to be as long as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence combined, and still not having fully expressed myself adequately, I have decided upon a different strategy - that of personal experience.

I will begin by telling you that I never owned a gun before living in this neighborhood. Then one day I overheard the local drug supplier telling one of his dealers here (as he pointed at my house) “Fuck him, take him out.” That threat, however, was not the actual cause which compelled me to purchase a gun. It was the fact that the Fort Wayne Police Department and the local DEA agents all seemed to dismiss the serious problem I was facing. I was placed in a situation where a man was threatening my life and the law enforcement agencies who should have acted to protect me simply told me not to worry about it. Well, it was my life, and I was worried, so I bought a gun (two actually!) and a permit to carry a weapon.

I will go on to tell you that for the next six years I carried my handgun only intermittently, never drew it in public, and only mentioned the fact that I had it to a very small number of people. All that changed in October of 2006 though, the night the drug dealers fire-bombed my home in retaliation for my speaking with the police about the problems here. After I saw the flames on my back porch, I exited the house with my Glock in hand, and I was very prepared to use it. That night I also spoke directly to the mother of one of these drug dealers, telling her “Your son is part of this shit, and it’s got to stop before somebody ends up getting hurt.” I still had my Glock in my hand as I gave this warning.

By the next morning, the drug dealers here were all fully aware that I owned a gun, and what model it was. For the next few days after this, the drug dealers were acting very aggressive towards me. I decided to speak with one of their leaders, letting him know that I was prepared to use my gun(s) to protect myself. In no uncertain terms, I told him that I would take a bullet to the head before allowing them to force me from my home. I also made it clear that, although I was certain to lose in a battle against all of them, I was fairly confident that I would score a kill before I went down myself.

I am certain today that it was this desperate act which first convinced the drug dealers that I was someone credible, someone worthy of giving consideration to. If not for the fact that I was armed, and that I convinced the drug dealers that I was determined to use my weapons to defend myself, I am certain that their encroachment upon my home would have continued and grown worse.

As it were, the drug dealers and I came to terms of a sort. Although no explicit agreement was made, for the next twenty months the drug dealers largely confined their activities to the sidewalk in front of my home, rather than my front yard and porch. In return, I only spoke to them or called the police when they were being particularly noisy or otherwise bothersome. It was an agreement which the police department seemed to have accepted long before I ever arrived here, so I really did not feel as though I was doing anything wrong with this arrangement, just what was necessary.

This arrangement always was a bit shaky. The guys never could resist the temptation to set on my retainer wall to rest a bit, or to use my yard as a staging pad for their activities, but at least they were now staying of my porch and out of my mailbox! Then, in June of 2008, an event occurred which again disturbed the balance. After observing two of the most obnoxious drug dealers of that year setting on my front wall for about ten minutes, I went out to confront them. I jumped the rail on my porch, and somehow managed to land on my feet on the sidewalk in front of them. Startled from this, they began to respond aggressively as I told them to get off my property.

One of them backed down immediately, but I locked eyes with the other for a minute and it seemed as though a physical confrontation was about to ensue. There were a couple problems though. First of all, while I have no doubt I could hold my own against either one of these guys, I am old enough now to realize that just about any two guys would probably be able to overpower me. And given the nature of these two in particular, I had no doubt that if we came to blows they would have sought to maximize the damage. The second problem was that I did not have my weapon on me at the time to defend against such an attack. Luckily that event ended without a fight. Two months later, one of the drug dealers shot a man right across the street from my home, seriously wounding him.

Also for consideration is the young drug dealer who lives only a half block from my home. He and his friends were shooting at each other here several times last summer, and I believe he was the driver in a drive-by shooting that occurred outside of my immediate neighborhood that summer. This person has been one the most incessant problems here for at least the past four years. I believe he has been a confidential informant for the police for at least the past two years, and it is their quasi-protection which I believe encourages him to act so obnoxiously.

In light of what I have experienced in my neighborhood, I am convinced that those who manage FWPD don’t really give a damn about people like myself, who are suffering under the oppression of criminal tyrants. And the patrol officers are simply too few to rely upon them as a first line of defense. Since the summer of 2008, I have rarely stepped outside of my home without having my Glock on me, and I have made certain that everyone here knows this. I own a gun, and I carry it, because if I did not, I probably would not have a home. It is that simple.

When you compare Fort Wayne to cities such as Detroit or D.C., one simply has to wonder what they were thinking when they proposed making it illegal for citizens to have a gun inside their own homes. In my opinion, such a law would be cause for revolution. And don’t call me a radical for this, unless you are willing to throw our founding fathers in the same lot.

That being said, I have no problem with requiring a criminal background check before either purchasing a gun or receiving a permit. And although I may not agree with all the restrictions that currently apply, I do believe that people who have committed violent crimes against others should be forced to give up their right to bear arms.

I also have no problem with creating a registry list of all guns and their owners. While I do not find the notion that our own government might someday try to impose a tyranny upon it’s people to be paranoid, the notion that they could do so without raising serious alarm among the population is nonsensical. The first day that they would collect the weapons from a few homes on the list would be the cause which would impel millions of gun owners to rise against them.

The reason I think such a registry would be practical is because the millions of guns that are possessed by criminals are usually given to them by those who can legally own guns. Either that or they have stolen them from such persons. Regardless, if a gun which you purchased ends up in the hands of someone who is not allowed to own a gun, I think you’ve got some explaining to do. Either you acted illegally, or just carelessly. I realize that accidents might happen, but I think there should be a three strikes rule which states that if your weapon is found in the possession of a criminal three times, then your right to purchase and own a gun should be revoked.

Anyway, to celebrate my belief that law-abiding citizens should have the right to both own and carry a weapon for their personal defense, I have written a song..

Sung to the tune of “Love Grows where my Rosemary goes”

I live with the crime I
It surrounds me all the time
But nobody messes with me
Because my Glock goes wherever I go
And nobody knows like me

Fifteen in the clip
That’s enough for any shit
Why I survive is really no mystery
Because my Glock goes wherever I go
And nobody knows like me

It’s worth carrying the extra two pound
It's a decision that’s sound
And I just gotta say
It’s really got a magical spell
And it’s working so well
That’s why I clean it each day

I'm a lucky fella
And I've just got to tell ya
That I love the Second Amendment
Because my Glock goes wherever I go
And nobody knows like me

It’s worth carrying the extra two pound
It's a decision that’s sound
And I just gotta say
It’s really got a magical spell
And it’s working so well
That’s why I clean it each day

I'm a lucky fella
And I've just got to tell ya
That I love the Second Amendment
Because my Glock goes wherever I go
And nobody knows like me

[Fadeout:]
It keeps going every place I’ve been
And nobody knows like me

If you’ve ever seen it, you will not forget it
And nobody knows like me

La la la- believe it when you've seen it
Nobody knows like me