A Case for a Handgun Ban in Chicago

I don’t like guns.

I don’t. Anyone who has happened to catch more than 90 seconds of a newscast or scanned the front page of a paper I think will agree, there is a lot of gun-related violence in Chicago. I mean, A LOT. As a matter of fact, in the summer of 2008 125 people were killed by gun fire in Chicago; Twice the amount of casualties as America churned out in Iraq.

Iraq. Where there’s a war. Twice. To liken Chicago to a warzone would be to underestimate the gravity of the situation. Chicago could only hope to have such a peaceful few months as Iraq did.

No matter what one’s stance on gun control, these are difficult numbers to ignore. Yet we are still divided.

Now the main argument for removing the ban on handguns in Chicago I hear is two-fold:

1. “Crimes are committed by criminals. I need a gun to protect myself from them. Guns in turn will lower crime rate because I can defend myself against someone who would probably just go get a gun illegally anyway.”

Part of that is true; yes, criminals are the ones causing the problems. If all the good guys had guns they could fight off the occasional bad guy who comes their way. All we have to do is make sure only the good guys are the ones with guns.

It’s a nice idea in theory. It really is. And I will say this, there have been times when I’ve almost been convinced that just having strict regulations is the answer.

Almost.

But when you get down to it, I just cannot see a real reason for guns. I can’t. Because ultimately, the only purpose of a gun is to destroy it’s target. No matter what the circumstance, whether used correctly, under supervision, as directed, legally, with the best of intentions, justified or not, that is all they do. And personally I feel one would be hard pressed to find any news story that went: “Two people are just peachy today because they each waved guns at each other.”

If that is our reasoning then the whole world might as well start warming up their nuclear bombs. After all, we’re a law-abiding country. We aren’t going around trying to threaten others. We just want to feel safe. It’s our right, and they blew that right by being bad.

Well then by all means, nuke it up! Because if some “bad-guy” country happens to get their hands on a real-life nuclear weapon, I want to make sure I can fight back.

I can say this much though, if that’s the case, then we’re not going to need to worry about guns. Or the economy. And definitely not global warming, ‘cuz the Earth probably isn’t going to be around for too much longer.

2. “It’s my constitutional right.”

Technically, yes, that would be the second Amendment. (You were paying attention in history.)

It states: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

I want to make clear that I do not dismiss the validity and importance of The Constitution. It is what our country was built on. The core foundations of our beliefs as a nation. The Bill of Rights is made up of 10 little phrases that help ensure the preservation of these foundations that our Founding Fathers’ worked so hard to forge. To ignore such precedence would be, well, Un-Constitutional.

Well, not necessarily.

Yes, The Constitution is the “teachers edition” of law books. It is what the Supreme Court looks to when trying to come to the most difficult of decisions. However, the world has changed since 1791. And I must say I find it hard to believe high school students popping each other after class because one was wearing a different color bandanna than the other is what our Fore-fathers had in mind when they put quill to parchment. We are far from the days of the British knocking down our doors with muskets and the Minute Men being the sole protectors of a secluded village.

We have a military. A pretty big and pretty well-armed one at that, compared to the 18th century. We have a Police force. And yes, both need attention, financially and otherwise. Both are stretched a little thin. But I refuse to believe that arming every Tom, Dick, and Harry that can pass a background check is going to ease that strain.  The fact that the old lady or college theater major next to me on the L could very well be packing is not going to make me feel safer riding. What about the rights of those killed? Doesn’t the right to live outweigh the right to carry a handgun through an urban population?

“Well anything can be a weapon if you try hard enough Jen. People are killed by cars, knives, prescription drugs, heart disease; Does that mean we should outlaw everything that has a potential to hurt? Should cheeseburgers be banned because they can lead to heart attacks?”

No. And cut the sarcasm.

If a drug dealer is selling crack, it’s far more difficult for them to get around cops and push their product than say, a doctor illegally selling prescription drugs; one is an illegal substance. There is no way, shape, or form that it would ever be OK to have.

The same cannot be said for an otherwise legal drug-it is far more difficult to see when it’s being put in the wrong hands. Now obviously we’re not going to ban prescription drugs because they can be used for bad things. The benefit of them greatly outweighs the harm. Because of that, we need to allow them and just have strict rules and procedures that ensure they don’t get into the wrong hands.

That’s what many propose for guns, and that would be a perfectly legitimate argument if a gun was saving and improving the lives a majority of the time they’re used.

But if you look at the numbers, the hundreds of people killed per year, I fail to see how that case can be made.

“Getting rid of guns is not going to stop crime.”

No, it’s not. Not by a long shot. I never said it would. But frankly I don’t think the fact that a step is not a cure-all is grounds for completely writing it off. Desegregation didn’t rid the country of racism, but I don’t think anyone would point to that and say “see it didn’t work.”

“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”

I understand that there are so many other factors that go into why gun violence is what it is in our city. Gangs need to be considered “Public enemy #1.” Yes, we need to take a good hard look at our prison system. Kids need better parenting, more options, education to keep them from turning to gangs and violence. I think we can all agree these are the underlying issues. You’re right, a gun never walked up to anyone, demanded their money and then shot them in the head. But the fact of the matter is, if a person doesn’t have a gun, they can’t shoot. Period. It’s impossible. Ask a scientist, they’ll tell ya. No I don’t think guns are the cause of violence; What I think is that they make it too easy to kill.

This is not the first time I’ve had this discussion. And I doubt it will be the last. I’ve been called “unrealistic”; my ideas “fantastical”; told I’m expecting a “Utopia”, and very likely worse things when I wasn’t in earshot.

And I can honestly say to those people, that part of me hopes you never agree with me. Because more likely than not the only way that would happen was if you were to be personally affected by gun violence. And politics aside, I truly hope that is never the case; that you go on believing that loading everyone with a weapon is going to keep us all safe because it has never hit you close to home. I mean that with the utmost sincerity.

And I don’t expect the world to ever be all sunshine and lollipops; to be able to walk down a dark alley in the middle of the night without a care; to turn on the news and see nothing but stories of how wonderful the world was today. No, that wouldn’t be “realistic.” Such an idea would be “fantastical” and that’s a pretty good definition of a Utopia if I ever heard one. I am not naive.

But that will never stop me from wanting it. From striving for it. From trying to get others to see just how much better it can all be if only we refused to accept the present reality as the ultimate fate.

And to quote a very wise man whose birth we celebrate today “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

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