New Gun Legislation is Not the Answer

I really had not planned on writing anything about the shooting in Newtown, Conn. because I didn’t have anything fresh or thought provoking to write. As I have indicated before, I can’t muster any extra sympathy for the tragic events in Connecticut when young kids are dying every day in Chicago and they barely get a mention in the news, and definitely not by this White House.

The worst thing any politician can ever do is to legislate while caught up in a cloud of emotion. Every time Americans have a tragedy, politicians and the public demand that “something” be done to prevent the same event from happening again. Here is a truth that most of us do not want to admit: There is no current law or future law that can prevent another mass shooting from occurring. Guns are not the problem, it’s the people.

If we could magically ban all guns immediately, it will have absolutely no impact on violent crime. There are an estimated 300 million guns in the hands of Americans. So, if guns are banned, what are you going to do about the guns already in the hands of Americans?

These liberals who want to take the 300 million guns away from law abiding citizens are the same ones who say it is impossible to find and remove 12 million illegals from this country. Is it really easier to find guns than humans?

I am not taking a position either way on the issue of gun control, but I do think there should be some sanity brought into the discussion. The National Rifle Association (NRA) really needs to shut its mouth. They are coming across as so unreasonable and they continue to embarrass themselves with every ridiculous statement they utter.

Liberals, including those in the White House, don’t want to talk about the moral issues necessary to deal with all this violence. Children are growing up in single-parent households, babies are having babies, Johnnie has two daddies, and Susie has two mommies. We have quickly become a nation with no standards or any absolutes.

When I grew up, there was male and female. Now there is this notion of “sexual fluidity.” This is a growing notion that is sweeping across the country indicating that your sexual preferences are constantly changing—thus is fluid. So, a male sometimes wants to be with a woman, sometimes he wants to be with a man, and sometimes he wants to be with both simultaneously.

We have a society that obsesses about their rights, but never mentions their responsibilities. Christians, especially preachers, are apologizing for their beliefs all in the guise of wanting to be liked.

Well, you can pass all the gun control laws you want, but until you deal with the heart of a man and the culture of a society, there can be no peace. Everyone knows that killing is wrong, but yet we subject people to literally thousands of hours of the most violent images from cradle to grave; and then we wonder why someone goes into a movie theater and shoots total strangers.

You have preachers apologizing for speaking against the homosexual lifestyle and some even remaining silent because they don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. Parents are telling their children that they are at fault when their own kid punches them in the face because they took away their cell phone.

There is wrong and right; there are winners and losers. Mass shootings in Connecticut, Colorado or Virginia are not about gun control, but rather values. Liberal Hollywood puts out all kinds of violent, over the top sexually charged programs, but claims it’s just entertainment. The NRA sees no circumstance that will cause them to compromise on their right to bear arms, not even for the good of the country.

This whole notion of universal background checks, while optically and from a PR perspective seems very reasonable; will do nothing to prevent another mass shooting. Criminals don’t buy guns legally; they buy them illegally or they steal them. So, requiring background checks will prevent very few hoodlums from obtaining guns. Whether you want to admit it or not, 99 percent of gun purchasers are law-abiding citizens with no mental health issues.

So, making people submit to background checks may make society feel good, but it doesn’t address the problem. Having the minister pray for your speedy recovery after surgery will make you feel good, but you still better take that pain medication in conjunction with that prayer. So, to the politicians, legislate if you must. But until you deal with the issue of values, you have become as the sounding brass or the tingling cymbal, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations/government affairs firm. He can be reached through his Web site, www.raynardjackson.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at raynard1223.