Gun Laws are Constantly Under Attack

June 20, 2023 — Jt Spratley
Scope on rifle and pistol, digitized brain, stick figure saluting, couple kissing, and 'Don't Tread on Me' flag,' all in black and white

I want to quickly share some thoughts on this YouTube video titled "Swiss Guns: What the U.S. can learn from Switzerland’s gun laws."

Ignoring US Gun History

The comments section within the YouTube video embedded above lists a bunch of counterpoints to the claim that the US of A would be safer with:

  1. Stricter gun laws
  2. Background checks for history of mental health challenges and violence
  3. Required military service

My initial reaction was that the video doesn't take into account our country's issues with anti-Black racism (especially the school-to-prison pipeline), poverty, and citizens' poor trust in police and government. But after rewatching it, I realized that the White former policewoman from Colorado alludes to this at the 1:40 timestamp:

"The relationship between the Swiss and guns is more, it's a matter of national security, where as in the United States, uh, it's more based on a personal freedom. They have a fireman to protect their own personal liberties, uh, because they don't trust the government in some cases."

So, she knows why Americans have firearms but didn't address the root causes as to why. There are many articles explaining the historical relationship between the Second Amendment, supporting gun laws (e.g., District of Columbia v. Heller), and control over Black slaves, freedman, and Blacks post-slavery. The most notable example is National Rifle Association's (NRA) supporting gun control measures in California against the Black Panthers. Another Black self-defense militia deserving of attention is their predecessor, Deacons for Defense.

"You’re potentially attacking a pretty important part of someone’s identity [with gun regulation]. These things are not just tools, they’re symbolic objects — and the symbolism that is inherent in them may have been there for a very long time." - Nick Buttrick of University of Wisconsin-Madison

Native Black Americans, visit your nearest Black-owned gun store and seek advice on what firearm best suits your needs, preferably one with a firing range and training courses. It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. You're going to need basic tactical gear to protect your Black-owned business and whatever else you do with your reparations. And talk with your children about gun safety. They probably already know more than you think because of the YouTube algorithm.

Mental Health and Gun Ownership

Red flag laws and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) shenanigans are marketed as methods to disarm mentally ill gun owners. In reality, they're simply sheisty ways to bypass the 2nd amendment. The same can be said for proposed mandatory mental health screening, something that hasn't been proven to be the root cause behind rising gun violence. It's also an easy way to empower medical professionals to force medications on patients and further deteriorate trust in healthcare. Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership looks interesting but I haven't read enough of their content to have an opinion on them. A lot of people like the idea of requiring positive mental health checks to purchase and keep a gun in an attempt to just do something I suppose.

"Ideally an assessment will help prevent guns from ending up in the hands of people whose mental health challenges might trigger great harm. The adage is that guns don’t kill people; people kill people. If this is true, then mental health assessments will help us not only prevent gun violence, but also help people who are struggling find support." - Danny Taylor

The article discusses a lot:

  • Mass shooters' mental health diagnoses
  • Mental health assessments and who believes they can help
  • Rejecting applicants with unclean mental health history and referring them to mental health providers
  • Forcing loved ones to get help for schizophrenia, substance-related disorders, and other "brain illnesses"

I saw nothing addressing what I believe to be one of two root issues: parenting

  1. Encouraging parents to be better parents
  2. Smarter mate selection
  3. Fixing the child support system so that less women get pregnant just to secure 18+ years of financial support from man she left

The second root issue is how the US government and this country has been regressing economically in recent years.

To be clear, I'm not saying the medical stuff can't help. I'd simply prefer to focus on the core issues. Meanwhile, we have government officials focusing on disarming the people for "1984" reasons. Some of the mass murderers were straight-up white supremacists and probably linked to a hate and anti-government group. Most gun violence results from suicide and/or handguns (pistols), not AR-15s (short for "ArmaLite-style rifle," not "assault rifle"). In summary, these anti-gun measures aren't addressing the key issues from the people's perspective, but the government's greed to further control citizens.

Required Military Service

Unsurprisingly, some politicians and others connected to the military-industrial complex (MIC), sometimes called the military-industrial-congressional complex, want to mandate military service for young adults. There are pros and cons to it. I think they're trying to justify putting more money into the industry.

Some veterans and pro-military folks support it, too. Many think that it would result in more mature young adults, less unemployment, and more national pride. I don't think it would be that simple, though. There are strong conflicting views about what the US of A should be: a true melting pot of equality versus a home for white nationalism (note the "Don't Tread on Me" flag in the top image) without Black Americans. It is too easy to argue that we have politicians lacking American pride and hoping to destroy the land of the free and the "home of the slave."

"A child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth." - African proverb

Again, this is an attempt to repair teenagers who grew up in unstable and toxic environments at home or school. Admittedly, the Army taught me a lot about manhood and how I view the US flag, including the Betsy Ross and Cowpens flags. But there's an old phrase that applies here:

"It is easier to build strong children than fix broken men."

Tags: black-community, military

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