A Radical Way to Solve the America’s Gun Problem

A Radical Way to Solve the America’s Gun Problem

Written by Jordan Moro

Gun control has been a hot button issue in American politics for decades. Politicians are afraid to touch the issue because of the political pressure exerted by the NRA, and their army of gun advocates ready to vote anyone who opposes them out of office.

At the root of the debate are two opposing viewpoints, held by two different types of people. Those in the “pro-gun” camp tend to have grown up or live in a household with guns, are comfortable around guns, know about their proper use and handling, and view guns more as tools of personal protection & safety than as instruments of death.

Those who lump themselves in the “anti-gun” camp (myself included), often have little-to-no experience with guns, have never owned a gun, or lived in a household with firearms. They are often inexperienced with guns and are generally clueless as to the proper handling, safety, and use of firearms in general. They view guns weapons only used by soldiers, police officers, and of course, criminals, and always for the express purpose of killing someone or something. To them, guns are intimidating, menacing and often mysterious.

One of the reasons the gun debate has lasted so many decades, is that there is so little fluidity between the two groups. Rarely will a gun owner voluntarily give up his guns, and rarely will someone who’s never owned a gun or been around guns before decide to go out and purchase one. Chances are, If your dad grew up owning and shooting guns, so will you. Conversely, or your dad (or you) was a peace loving flower-child of the 60’s, then it’s much less likely you’ll  have a few dozen rounds of ammunition in the closet. Seldom does a person switch from one side to the other.

The obvious solution would be to FORCE everyone into one group or the other, thus ending the debate. Once upon a time there was a debate over racial integration, until the Federal Government forced people into one camp, that of pro-integration. After that, there was no more debate, today the question of public integration ceases to be an issue of debate.

There are some 300 million guns floating around currently in the United States. This fact, along with the rights guaranteed by the 2^nd amendment, means it would be impossible to get everyone in the pro-gun camp to give up their guns and switch over to the gun control side, which is essentially what the government has been trying in vain to do for many years.

This leads me to my solution to the dual issues of gun ownership and gun violence in America:

Mandatory Gun Ownership.

If this sounds like a radical idea, that’s because it is. If I had been asked last year what I thought about mandatory gun ownership, I would have said it’s irresponsible, crazy even. However, I’m convinced there is a way this could work with the proper implementation. No, my plan isn’t to hand a free gun to every man, woman, and child and send them on their merry way. Not exactly anyway.

Here’s how it would work: every child legally enrolled in a public school, from kindergarten through 12^th grade, would receive age appropriate instructions on gun safety and proper handling & use. Early on, this curriculum might include what to do if you see a gun unattended (don’t touch it, tell an adult). As children get older the lessons would get progressively more rigorous. Once in ones late teens, one would be expected to know how to properly load, unload, clean, and safely fire a gun.  Only upon successful completion of firearm safety courses from kindergarten through 12^th grade, would a person be given a government-issued handgun with their name and social security number etched in the barrel. This gun is to remain theirs until death, and it would be illegal to sell or give it away for any reason.

“But what about safety?” You might ask. “Wouldn’t giving everyone a gun increase the likelihood of violence?”

There’s a saying that goes “nobody ever committed a robbery at a gun show”. It should be obvious why not, as nobody is stupid enough to hold up a building full of people likely toting firearms. Now extend that to the populace at large. Contrary to popular belief, criminals aren’t stupid. They know that, in a nation where gun ownership is the law, and nearly everyone born in the country has had a decade or more of firearm training and instruction, the chances that they’ll get away with a robbery, or rape, or assault, or murder unharmed is essentially zero. Bad guys know to only target those who are easy victims. Enable every potential victim to properly defend themselves, and suddenly the incentive to commit that robbery goes way down.

Of course, there could still be laws against fully automatic rifles, extended clips, armor piercing bullets and similar innovations designed solely for the battlefield. After all, arguing everyone own and know how to use a personal firearm is not an invitation for everyone to go out and buy the most powerful weapon available. There can, and should, always be limits on what kind of weapon the average person can have access to.

Believe it or not, there is much more to this idea than what I’ve laid out in this post, I invite anyone with questions or comments, even the harsh ones, to post them in the comments section below. I’ll be checking back periodically to address them.