Opinions

Tragedy highlights dire need for gun regulation in America

People laugh when I tell them I barely read the paper any more. But I don't. Even the radio isn't safe. I had to snap it off yesterday when they were talking in graphic detail about two parents who were gunned down in some foreign country right in front of their four children. I don't know how one goes on with their day after hearing that, how people don't feel the gobsmacking tragedy of such violence.

But the school shootings are the worst — these terrible acts of mass murder, becoming more and more familiar, like the sickest of fads. These killers didn't get this idea all on their own. It's becoming the thing to do when you are ticked off and decide to let the world know in the most devastating way possible that you hurt. Not shopping malls — those are just adults. If you really want to make waves and grab headlines, go for the children.

And yet, we continue to debate the solution like dogs chasing our tails. Guns aren't the problem, people are the problem, opponents to any sort of restrictions on gun ownership say. Violence is perpetuated first by the government and citizens are just following suit, they say. It's our constitutional right to have guns, people say.

I want to ask people who oppose any sort of regulation on gun ownership what they are so afraid of. How many of us have ever been in a situation where our lives depended on whether we had a gun tucked under our mattress or not? I would say almost none of us. So what are these guns, then, other than the "adult" equivalent of a security blanket or a stuffed animal? We can sleep better at night knowing we have something to protect ourselves from the world? Do we really think that the government might overthrow us, march in, take over and tell us we have to become pig farmers? Come on, people. These are fantasy scenarios perpetuated by people who are scared. And oddly, that fear, and a lot of great lobbying, has created the very situation we fear — a society where walking down the street at night is, in fact, dangerous, a society where even sending your children to school isn't safe.

The thing about guns is they are wonderfully glamorous, thanks to a constant barrage of movies and video games. The old farm rifle used for keeping deer out of your garden just didn't make you swagger the way some fancy little piece of metal does for some. It was not a status symbol, an ego booster. So we have this sexy relationship with guns in America, they make us feel tough and big, and we don't want anyone to take that away from us.

But the problem is, it's sort of like driving a car with a lot of power. Sure, you can drive it safely, if you are reasonable 100 percent of the time, if you have perfectly honed self-control. But when you get into a fight with your partner or your boss, you react. You go a little faster. You let the tires squeal around the corner. It feels good, and the fact it's a little dangerous is part of why it feels good. But change that car to a gun, and the outcome can be grim. We, as a society, have to face the fact we are not, collectively, being responsible gun owners. There are too many guns in the wrong people's hands and something must be done.

I highly doubt most people who own a gun bought it with the intent of becoming a murderer. Even those involved in less than admirable activities probably don't generally arm themselves hoping to use its deadly force against another human being. The problem is, like the car, circumstances are not always foreseeable. Tempers flare. Depression hits. Humans react, and if you add a gun to the reaction, it can be a terrible equation with no rewind button.

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So what can we do as citizens of the country with the biggest gun problem in the world? Everything. We can start by requiring people to register guns, all guns, like we register our cars. We can require gun owners to get a license just like people who drive a car. We might even require them to pass a test to have a gun. We can make it just that teensy bit more difficult for anyone with a couple of hundred dollars and a chip on their shoulder to get their hands on this killing device.

None of these things will stop people from killing other people. They can still do that many other ways. But guns are the weapon of choice for most people bent on destruction. They are easy to get, easy to use, and wonderfully impersonal.

Gun regulation is not a solution, but it's a start. Most of us who use guns for their designed purpose — hunting — already have licenses. If you carry a concealed weapon, you might have a permit, but Alaska law doesn't require one. Permits and licenses are nothing new for responsible gun owners. But for some reason, the thought of regulating whose hands guns can be in causes people to panic.

Here's the thing — all of us want the same thing. We want to feel safe. But that's not the direction our current course of action is taking us. Based on the current trajectory, it's only going to get more dangerous to live in the United States of America. Something has to change.

Carey Restino is the editor of Bristol Bay Times-Dutch Harbor Fisherman and The Arctic Sounder, where this commentary first appeared.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

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