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4:11

Commentary

  [29]

Commentary

Our gun problem is worse than you think

The challenge isn't the Second Amendment, it's a larger issue of a worldview

  Darrell Ehrlick
  [30]

Darrell Ehrlick

December 15, 2022 4:11 am

  Photo illustration by Getty Images.

  This past summer, I was at a garage sale and saw a person openly
  carrying a firearm. It struck me as incongruous that such an instrument
  was needed at an estate sale that also featured an amazingly good
  assortment of accordions.

  I chalked this up to fluke and being in Montana.

  The following week, I saw a nearly identical thing, albeit without the
  accordions.

  I respect the right to carry arms and I don't dispute that the folks
  who tote their guns to garage sale have every right to do so. It's the
  worldview that I question.

  In full disclosure: I enjoy guns - from the artistry and craftsmanship,
  to the loud things that go bang. My home isn't exactly gun-free,
  although there are gun safes with the appropriate locks and safeguards.

  However, even as a gun enthusiast, I still gulp when I see firearms at
  garage sales or grocery stores because I wonder about a person who
  feels their existence threatened enough to carry, but also feels
  comfortable enough checking on the price of a used lawnmower.

  This week, while in traffic, I noticed that the bumper ahead of me was
  covered in a variety of stickers. The one that stood out was the
  sticker that said: The Second Amendment is NOT about hunting.

  That, too, is also correct insofar as it oversimplifies the Second
  Amendment.

  Hunting appears nowhere in the text, and while hunting was likely more
  prevalent when the United States Constitution was written, the context
  of the amendment doesn't say anything about hunting. As you've probably
  heard in Montana: One of the most frequent reasons given for the
  state's extraordinarily high gun ownership rate is hunting.
  Furthermore, many who defend increasingly more aggressive gun laws do
  so using hunting as a defense (in other words: I need all these guns to
  feed my family).

  Yet the founding fathers didn't really contemplate a time where hunting
  was unnecessary, and the Second Amendment speaks of the right to keep
  and bear arms. That's where most people stop reading, but forget the
  other part, which is keeping firearms for the purpose of a well
  regulated militia.

  In other words, while the Second Amendment doesn't say anything about
  hunting, it also doesn't say much about toting your gun(s) wherever you
  want, including to a bake sale, a garage sale or other gatherings. In
  fact, I'd argue the Second Amendment is far less mysterious than people
  think: The purpose is to keep guns for military service, ostensibly in
  defense of the country. Over time, that meaning has widened expansively
  to mean guns are allowable for personal use in nearly any setting.

  So this is the true chasm between Second Amendment zealots and those of
  us who believe in something short of banning weapons. It's not about
  how many guns or what purpose those guns serve - hunting or defense.
  Instead, it's something a lot larger and harder to bridge: It's how we
  see the world.

  I am well aware that generally speaking the world is a dangerous place.
  I have covered violence and shootings. I have been horrified to see
  what guns can do in places like Colorado Springs, Uvalde, Las Vegas and
  Sandy Hook.

  I am just not confident that arming more people would have yielded
  different, better results.

  I haven't been quite able to wrap my head around the idea that the
  world is so dangerous or that I am so good with a gun that carrying one
  is good or necessary. Quite frankly, I am more worried about the
  drivers who are traveling to those garage sales or grocery stores than
  I am concerned they're going to shoot me. That doesn't lessen the
  inherent danger of driving, and I haven't added a weapons system on my
  truck to defend my life, which is much more likely to be threatened by
  inattentive driving than an armed madman.

  Is the world really so scary that you have to be armed everywhere?

  I don't know because I have never screwed up the courage to ask.

  And that's really the point: Whenever a gun enters the conversation -
  even passively by being strapped to a holster and a belt - the dynamic
  changes. That's the whole reason law enforcement officers employ them.
  It tends to leave little doubt about the power dynamic and
  differential.

  Some have even asked as a point of concern: As a newspaper editor,
  wouldn't it help to have a gun?

  I have never found one occasion as an editor that would have been made
  better, or resolved a situation more satisfactorily.

  Maybe the biggest con job the gun lobby has done is to de-emphasize the
  power of the gun (ironically), as if they're as simple as a fashion
  accessory. We've started to produce them in designer colors; we now
  have purses made especially to hold that concealed weapon. And, of
  course, we're wearing them at garage sales.

  Second Amendment supporters say they believe in the Constitution enough
  to exercise their rights by carrying a gun, but what happens when I
  believe in those same laws enough to trust law enforcement or believe
  in the peace of the country enough to be certain that there are few
  instances where I need a weapon?

  A gun isn't a sign of solidarity for the Second Amendment, instead it's
  more of an affirmation of fear.

  And the only thing we have to fear is ... well, nevermind. You probably
  can already finish that phrase for yourself. And I am not so sure it
  means much to the carry-guns-everywhere crowd since it was said by a
  Democrat anyway.

  X

Our gun problem is worse than you think

  by Darrell Ehrlick, [31]Daily Montanan
  December 15, 2022

  <h1>Our gun problem is worse than you think</h1>____________
  <p>by Darrell Ehrlick, <a href="https://dailymontanan.com">D
   <p>This past summer, I was at a garage sale and saw a perso
  <p>I chalked this up to fluke and being in Montana.</p>_____
  <p>The following week, I saw a nearly identical thing, albei
  <p>I respect the right to carry arms and I don't dispute tha
  <p>In full disclosure: I enjoy guns - from the artistry and
  <p>However, even as a gun enthusiast, I still gulp when I se
  <p>This week, while in traffic, I noticed that the bumper ah
  <p>That, too, is also correct insofar as it oversimplifies t
  <p>Hunting appears nowhere in the text, and while hunting wa
  <p>Yet the founding fathers didn't really contemplate a time
  <p>In other words, while the Second Amendment doesn't say an
  <p>So this is the true chasm between Second Amendment zealot
  <p>I am well aware that generally speaking the world is a da
  <p>I am just not confident that arming more people would hav
  <p>I haven't been quite able to wrap my head around the idea
  <p>Is the world really so scary that you have to be armed ev
  <p>I don't know because I have never screwed up the courage
  <p>And that's really the point: Whenever a gun enters the co
  <p>Some have even asked as a point of concern: As a newspape
  <p>I have never found one occasion as an editor that would h
  <p>Maybe the biggest con job the gun lobby has done is to de
  <p>Second Amendment supporters say they believe in the Const
  <p>A gun isn't a sign of solidarity for the Second Amendment
  <p>And the only thing we have to fear is ... well, nevermind
  <style> figure, .tipContainer, .socContainer, .subscribeShor
  ____________________________________________________________
   <p><a href="https://dailymontanan.com">Daily Montanan</a> i
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  Darrell Ehrlick
  [34]

Darrell Ehrlick

  Darrell Ehrlick is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Montanan, after
  leading his native state's largest paper, The Billings Gazette. He is
  an award-winning journalist, author, historian and teacher, whose
  career has taken him to North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah, and
  Wyoming. With Darrell at the helm, the Gazette staff took Montana's top
  newspaper award six times in seven years. Darrell's books include
  writing the historical chapters of "Billings Memories" Volumes I-III,
  and "It Happened in Minnesota." He has taught journalism at Winona
  State University and Montana State University-Billings, and has served
  on the student publications board of the University of Wyoming.
  [35]MORE FROM AUTHOR

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