Shooting Holes in the Myth

Here is a bit of history regarding the Originalist intent of the Second Amendment. I find it ironic how those more inclined to right-wing ideology cleave to the Originalist argument when it suits a particular agenda, but are so quick to jettison that very reasoning when faced with an Originalist view juxtaposed to their present-day sensibilities fed by dark money PACs, media echo chambers, and other Dominionist voices. It's tragic that we have to keep returning to this debate time and time again. Spare me the lame defense of how it is people that kill people and not guns. Yes, people do, in fact, pull the triggers that indiscriminately end human life, but the use of guns makes it so much more efficient and easy.

I do not believe in outlawing all guns. I believe that guns for hunting and recreational use are just fine, but when firearms--bearing the hallmarks and designs of weapons of war--are continually used by desperate, deranged, and damaged people as a means of expressing their displeasure and disagreement with particular individuals, groups, or society in general, then we as a people need to reassess what the right to bear arms really should mean.

Contrary to the myths floated by 2A proselytizers who come out of the woodwork following tragic mass shootings to offer their thoughts and prayers while challenging anyone to come and pry their beloved weapons of war from their cold, dead hands, the right to possess firearms isn't absolute and was never, ever meant to be. The right to bear arms was originally meant as the means for a minority white population in Southern states to impose their collective will and retain their power over their chattel, of whom they were in constant fear. Through the second half of the 20th Century and the growth of neoliberal, Movement Conservativism, the Second Amendment was added as an issue to widen the appeal of the coalition devoted to ending the New Deal liberal state.

One only has to look at the historical arc of the NRA to understand this. The NRA began as an organization promoting firearm safety and the sport of precision shooting. I think at one point in my youth when I was a bit more outdoorsy, I even belonged to the NRA. The message was clear at that point—before you pick up a gun, learn how to use it, respect it—a message that I thoroughly believe in. Over the years, that message has morphed mightily, as the NRA has become nothing more than the political-lobbying arm of gun manufacturers. In this role, the NRA has pushed the facetious agenda of how the “liberals are coming for your guns” and that the Second Amendment is in danger of being done away with by a Communist-led government wanting to strip America of being what America really is. Just watch coverage after a mass shooting or campaign rhetoric from right-wing candidates. Watch recorded Congressional committee Zoom calls with 2A acolytes like Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert and her arsenal arrayed on shelving in the background. Over the years, both the NRA and gun manufacturers have raked in billions playing on the fears constantly stoked by right-wing mouthpieces.

We have dug ourselves a very deep hole in the U.S. regarding firearm ownership and the Second Amendment, one from which we can’t easily extricate ourselves. It is part and parcel to the widening gulf in the U.S. regarding worldview, the purpose of government, and our very identity as a country. I find it distressing, disquieting, and depressing how this and many other contemporary issues come down to the question of the commons versus the individual, the worth and dignity of human life versus perceived threats to one’s individual rights, the reality of how we are treating each other versus the American Exceptionalism/bootstrap myth.