Chekov's Guns

I kid, but the sheer number of guns in society basically is causing their misuse. It's inevitable. When you have access to destructive, easy tooling with low barriers to entry, it becomes a solution to your problems.

Gang violence and mass shooters are distractions (albeit deadly ones) for our real problem - the proliferation of firearms with no training or sense of responsibility. Angry? Pull out your gun. Fearful of someone bringing a gun to your movie? Bring your gun! More guns means it's more likely someone will misuse one.

Look, I own several firearms myself, having inherited some and purchased some others. I have a CCW permit (which, thanks to our generously lax interpretations of the 2nd, my state is one of the diminishingly few that actually makes you show you can handle a gun properly before carrying).

I'd give them up in a heartbeat if it'd mean fewer deaths. I don't for one second think "I need a gun when the people with guns come for me!". If it's come to that, there are many other things that have failed.

The 2nd was created for militias in defense against the state and kings - honestly I simply disagree with the courts' interpretations for the past 30 years. It's nowhere near the 1st in terms of natural rights that we imbue on humans, but damned if you'd know it from looking at the way we worship and revere it.