A gun is just a tool, it can’t mean freedom

Gun rights groups see today’s student walkout as an emotional reaction to what happened in Parkland. They quote statistics showing how rare mass shootings are. Yet, most Americans still want something done.

What to expect during Wednesday’s student walkout

So what do we do? Forget the statistics. Nobody can agree on them.

Most Americans probably would agree that we’d feel a lot better if we could at least have some confidence that powerful weapons were in responsible hands. People who are mature, trustworthy, stable and — dare I say — well-regulated?

Let’s set a standard so that the only way for a bad guy to get a firearm would be to steal it, at which point we can hunt him down and disarm him before the mayhem.

As for the bad guys who already own firearms? We’re going to have to smoke them out instead of ignoring them, as happened in Parkland.  We have a gun culture which has planted this idea that owning a gun is a uniquely American expression of freedom. It’s created this liberal attitude that anything goes when it comes to weapons. That calling the cops on someone who’s armed and angry might somehow be unpatriotic.

Photos: Students across the nation walk out to protest gun violence

But a firearm is just a tool. It can’t mean freedom. It can’t mean anything. The meaning of a gun is defined entirely by the person holding it.

So, it’s true there’s no point in gun control. We’re way past that. It does mean that the only way to create a sense of security now is gun owner control.

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