On July 15, Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles/ South Bay), had a public forum on gun violence at Santa Monica City Hall.
Once again, Congressman Waxman is sparring with strawmen.
The guns are not the problem in our culture. No matter how strict, how stringent the gun laws in any community, the violent tendencies within the flawed nature of man cannot be curbed with good laws alone. As Machiavelli asserted in his signature political treatise, a good state is founded on “good laws and good arms.” Enforcement of the law is essential, yet for every citizen to depend on the state alone for protection has failed time and again, with the violent backlash of “control the guns!” as the only response.
NRA President Wayne LaPierre declared in a forum following the terrible Newtown, Conn. shooting: “The best defense against a bad gun with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
The matter of “good and bad” cannot be ignored when discussing gun violence. The propensity for evil in the human heart cannot be stopped with expansive legislation.
Instead of disarming the good guys, our legislators, our leaders, should allow every good guy to defend themselves from the bad guys. Illinois just passed concealed-carry laws. More importantly, public schools should not be restricted from permitting an armed guard to patrol to the premises.
Preventing public places from being easy targets will discourage future gun violence. Allowing as many as choose to be armed, to be armed will also discourage future assailants in our society.
Arthur Christopher Schaper