I’m (unfortunately) not a rich person, but that doesn’t stop me from opposing punitive taxes on successful entrepreneurs, investors, and small business owners.
Likewise, I’m not a gun aficionado, but that doesn’t stop me from opposing efforts to restrict the rights of law-abiding people to own and bear arms.
In part, my views on guns are driven by cost-benefit analysis. Simply stated, the evidence is fairly clear that there is less crime when bad people have to worry that potential victims have the ability to defend themselves.
But I also very much agree with the constitutional argument for gun ownership, as well as the “societal disarray” argument.
Interestingly, it seems that more folks on the left are coming to their senses on the issue of gun control, generally for practical reasons rather than philosophical reasons.
- In 2012, I shared some important observations from Jeffrey Goldberg, a left-leaning writer for The Atlantic. In his column, he basically admitted his side was wrong about gun control.
- Then, in 2013, I wrote about a column by Justin Cronin in the New York Times. He self-identified as a liberal, but explained how real-world events have led him to become a supporter of private gun ownership.
- In 2015, I shared a column by Jamelle Bouie in Slate, who addressed the left’s fixation on trying to ban so-called assault weapons and explains that such policies are meaningless.
- More recently, in 2017, Leah Libresco wrote in the Washington Post that advocates of gun control are driven by emotion rather empirical research and evidence.
- Last but not least, Alex Kingsbury in 2019 acknowledged the futility of gun control in a column for the New York Times.
Today, we’re going to add to the collection.
Charles Blow of the New York Times recently wrote about how he has become more understanding of why fellow blacks want to own guns.
Growing up in rural northern Louisiana, everyone I knew, at least every household, seemed to have guns. …Gun ownership was the norm in those parts, including in the Black community. It was not associated with danger but with safety. …Indeed, one could argue that the right to bear arms in this country has never been so brazenly and openly abridged as it has against Black people.
Many state codes prohibited Black gun ownership before the Civil War and allowed for the disarmament of Black people after. …When I moved north, first to Detroit and then to New York, I moved into a mental space of more stringent gun control. …city dwellers simply didn’t have the same need for weapons as the people in the rural community where I was raised… I, like many, were convinced that fewer guns in the Black community would make it safer. But, for many Black people, that sentiment has turned. …gun sales to Black people are surging. …I, as much as anyone, would like to live in a society in which all citizens felt safe without the need of personal firearms. America could have created such a society. However, it chose not to. …many Black people feel the need to defend themselves from their own country.
To be sure, Mr. Blow can’t be considered a full convert to the 2nd Amendment. That being said, I think it’s nonetheless remarkable that even a committed, hard-core leftist has (partially) seen the light.
Though I can’t resist quibbling with one point in his column.
He wrote, “America could have created” a society where gun control would be desirable because no guns would be needed, but “it chose not to.”
I would replace “it chose not to” with “our government is not sufficiently competent.”
Heck, I would probably add “or trustworthy” as well. Given the unsavory history of gun control, Mr. Blow should be among the first to appreciate that argument.
P.S. In 2018, I shared the story of Ryan Moore, another leftist who changed his mind on gun control. But since he also evolved away from being a leftist, I don’t include him
[…] Another Leftist Has an Epiphany on Guns […]
[…] Another Leftist Has an Epiphany on Guns […]
“Industry Execs Provide Update On Ammo Shortage”
by Cam Edwards
https://bearingarms.com/cam-e/2020/12/30/industry-execs-update-ammo-shortage/
“‘Tis The Season For Armed Self-Defense”
by Cam Edwards
https://bearingarms.com/cam-e/2020/12/27/tis-the-season-self-defense-stories/
Reblogged this on boudica.us.
“A conservative is a leftist who’s been mugged.”
[…] Another Leftist Has an Epiphany on Guns […]
It would be great if the US Supreme Court would embrace the 2nd amendment since states like NY, CA, IL, and NJ clearly infringe on keeping and bearing arms.
“a self identified liberal” or a LINO. Though acknowledgement of the righteousness of the 2nd amendment is a good start to being a real liberal.
To Drunken Tussle:
Point taken, but … this points to the misguided media emphasis on “bad” policing instead of focusing on the real threat to the Black community, that of eating themselves.
Keep in mind that in many of the cities with police “problems” there are more minority cops than Whites in the difficult neighborhoods.
Reblogged this on Gds44's Blog.
I think this is just the early stage of a transition toward a future where both left and right embrace guns and the concept of being well-armed. The obvious corollary is that what are now pro-gun views will become the consensus and be embraced across the country, with what are now considered the most radical pro-gun views being mainstream, possibly consensus. This would entail policies such as repealing background check requirements altogether and fully legalizing machine guns.
Even more interestingly, we can expect this to become a global movement. For a long time America’s turn toward pro-gun sentiment was considered an outlier but in recent years we’ve seen American-style pro-gun mass movements appear in places like Czechia and Brazil, seeking the legal right to keep and bear arms and even rollbacks of existing gun controls. We should expect this more extreme trend to spread globally too.
To jal64:
Perhaps a more pressing problem than certain communities feeling that they might need to defend themselves from their government, is the already existing problem of police suspending service to certain communities whenever it suits them, as we’ve seen this year. Whether because police are busy dealing with urban unrest, or whether a certain department’s union orders a walkout [as they did in Buffalo, NY after two officers pushed an old man and he fell on his head; if that’s how they can handle old white people, imagine a black person’s view on the situation]. This is why we’ve seen news stories over the summer of mixed race urban militias, organized by combat veterans. It seems to me that this is a good way to encourage neighborhood awareness and self-policing. Of course, there are going to be some unfortunate incidents if this becomes widespread. But compared to the current situation we’re living with, of violent ghettos and police who don’t want to serve certain communities unless they can make easy arrests for petty vice crimes, I think it’s worth trying; and it will happen, unless there is continuing political will to reform poor police practices.
I’m more troubled by Mr. Blow’s closing comment: “As has been the case since slavery, many Black people feel the need to defend themselves from their own country.”
When we feel a need to defend ourselves from “our own country” we are indeed in trouble.
No Leftist has ever answered the question: How does confiscating firearms from law abiding people make America safer?
The concept of self-protection is completely ignored by the Left. The Leftists need a revolution because they can’t compete in the arena of ideas. The American political philosophy has to be changed at the point of a gun and that can’t happen when Americans are legally armed. Thus, logically, to change America, the Leftists presume that Americans must be disarmed.
[…] Another Leftist Has an Epiphany on Guns […]