To All Gun Owners: You Are Free But You Are Not Entitled

It almost seems ironic that in the time of Trumpism that we are witnessing not one but two progressive tipping points in America culture.  The first was/is the #MeToo movement that I blogged about previously.  Now we are seeing a backlash against the anti-gun control lobby, particularly the National Rifle Association (NRA), in light of the recent mass shooting at Parkland School in Florida.

America is a nation of violence and murder.  Mass shootings have become a routine part of the American psyche.   As I mentioned before, these shootings occur on a regular, almost rhythmic basis.  Sure, the vast majority of Americans are responsible about their gun choices.  But enough of us are unstable and guns are so easily available that far more Americans have been murdered by legal domestic firearms since the "war on terrorism" began in 2001 (about 500,000) than by any terrorist organization (generously estimating 5,000).  You are factually 100 times more likely to be murdered or commit suicide than you are of being killed by terrorists.  We are the terrorists.

Which makes it seem like something should be attempted with regard to guns themselves every time another mass shooting occurs.  This poses a problem.  The NRA  is probably the most rabid and powerful special interest group in the country - defending its interpretation of Second Amendment rights with distinctive aggression.  The answer to every mass shooting is not less guns but more of them.  The answer is not preventing the murderers from obtaining arms, it is deterring them through the threat of massive shoot-outs between citizens.

Since the NRA is Donald Trump's constituency, naturally his unimaginative solution to arm teachers in schools.  But floating the idea, like so much else Trump has attempted, only serves to alienate Trump further from mainstream America.  We are finally entering a stage where mainstream America, which does not own guns nor particularly care about guns, is rising up against the routine nature of gun violence committed by a fraction of the minority of Americans who own guns.  The mainstream, many of whom voted for Trump in 2016, are becoming disenchanted with the violence and the NRA and the repetitive, unproductive response to America's murdering ways.  

The NRA's view is an inherently dystopian view of our future.  Or perhaps of our past.  It is the solution used in the nineteenth century American West.  That didn't turn out so well as untold numbers were murdered.  Never in the history of the world has more guns equated to less violence.  On the contrary, states with loose gun restrictions or no restrictions have a higher rate of gun murders than those states that offer control mechanisms for its citizenry.

The great experiment of Federalism allows our dynamic mix of States to each be an incubator for what does and does not work in government.  Connecticut, for example, has seen a marked decrease in gun violence due to its policies toward gun control.  An unregulated gun state such as Louisiana, on the other hand, has seen homicides by firearms steadily increase.  The evidence is rather overwhelming that gun control works in reducing mass shootings. 

But the NRA wants us to focus on other factors in domestic violence.  While that argument has some merit, none of these associated issues has demonstrated the capacity to impact the issue of murders by firearms and mass shootings the way gun control does.  The NRA further wants us to arm more people, promoting more gun use.  This return to the nineteenth century has no basis for justification.  It is mere opinion by those fetishists who think personal freedom cannot exist without unrestrained gun usage and ownership.

In the past that has been enough.  The NRA has always effectively represented this neurotic tendency to believe that gun ownership should not be subject to the same degree of public scrutiny as driving a car, which is both highly regulated and enforced.  But now the winds of change seem to be upon us as never before.  Instead of looking to the federal government to do something substantial about American society's murderous ways (which it likely won't), several state governments are taking action.  Assault rifles, for example, have never been more unpopular at this level of government.  And this is how it should be.  After all, the right spelled out in the Second Amendment might ultimately allow individual gun ownership, but quite clearly that right rests within the context of the States, not the individuals, specifically "well-regulated militias."  

This is a good time to quote the awkwardly worded (to modern readers) amendment verbatim: "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."

I won't wade into the militia versus the individual aspect of gun control.  Individuals have a right to bear arms, but you cannot write the States out of the Second Amendment, though the NRA certainly makes ever effort to do so.

More importantly, now corporate America has stepped up to the gun control debate and started severing ties of privilege with the NRA, implementing forms of control that federal government hasn't the balls to do.  Walmart has raised the legal age for buying firearms from 18 to 21 in their stores.  Several companies have discontinued preferential treatment for the giant gun fetish association.  Some politicians have attempted to strike back as the Lt. Governor of Georgia did with Delta airlines.  But, Virginia and New York have stepped in to offer incentives to Delta should Georgia decide the neurosis of gun possession is more important than having a major airline's corporate hub, with all its associated economic advantages, in Atlanta.

The significance of corporate America beginning to turn its back on the NRA cannot be overstated.  It makes this mass shooting moment distinctive from previous years.  The routine script of politicians sending their "thoughts and prayers" then debating the topic of control for a couple of days, without resolution, until the news cycle dies down.  Then a few more weeks pass until the next mass shooting in America restarts the same predictable and fruitless process.

Now, corporate money is involved.  In an unprecedented move, corporate giant Dick's Sporting Goods is discontinuing the sales of assault-style weapons.  Meanwhile, the attack on the NRA member entitlement does not reflect received wisdom on behalf of  corporate America.  No, it reflects something much more powerful in politics, that consumers and markets served by these large companies will not be significantly affected by the removal of NRA privilege.  In effect, such special discounts and considerations are beginning to be considered irrelevant to their business models.

This is a terrifying moment for the NRA and for gun rights advocates everywhere.  The routine response isn't so routine this time.  This time, if guns are not controlled, at least those owning them are being singled out as unworthy of special treatment.  They have become consumers without genuine clout in terms of free enterprise.  That is a powerful cultural shift that rivals #MeToo in terms of genuine change in American society.

We are still a long way from dealing with routine mass shootings in America.  The NRA remains incredibly strong.  But dealing with those who insist America needs to answer gun violence with more guns is a great first step.  54% of voters now say they will support candidates in favor of some form of gun control in the upcoming mid-term elections.  With the number of actual gun owners declining in America (even though the total number of guns is rising) from here on out things just might be different. With each passing year, with each new mass shooting, fewer American voters see guns as something deserving of privilege. Ultimately, that could translate into a change of sentiment in the political sphere.  It is exciting to see America moving from the relic of Old West mentality to something on par with the future of a free and open society.  

Are we going to have a #MeToo paradigm shift with guns?  Recent events suggest if not now then we certainly will at some point with some future mass shooting.  America is changing in a lot of ways and attitudes becoming lukewarm about guns is part of that change.

I would say this to those with a gun fetish in America. A reckoning is upon us.  Gun owners are not entitled to a special ethical sense of freedom.  Gun ownership does nothing to enhance individual liberty over those who choose not to own guns.  We (state governments and American corporations) are not coming for your guns.  We are coming for your sense of entitlement about gun ownership. You are no longer anything special.  Actually, you never were, but only now, thanks to the continuing actions of murderous legal gun owners, America is starting to call you out.

Late Note: Kroger announced that it would also stop selling guns and ammunition to anyone under 21 years of age.  This is HUGE.  Until now nothing of consequence has ever been done after a mass shooting in America.  These concessions aren't much but they are something.  Change is in the wind.