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Perhaps we should pay attention to “cyberarms”
Posted By DP Opinion On April 2, 2013 @ 1:41 pm In Guest Commentary,Gun Control,Uncategorized | 11 Comments
By Warren Woodrich Pettine
Colorado has just set into law three new pieces of gun control legislation. During the debate that gave shape to these policies, one set of voices was very quiet: those of us who came of age in the era of the Internet, drones, and mass shootings. As Colorado now decides what these new laws mean and how they relate to our freedoms, thoughts from my generation are important to consider.
The majority of the country interprets the Second Amendment as an enforcement mechanism of the citizens’ rights against the authority of the state. This ability is not trivial: The fourth (search and seizure) and fifth (right to due process) amendments to the constitution have been severely tested in recent years. Even if one believes that such federal powers are necessary, and the current administration is a responsible actor, it is easy to envision a future in which these precedents become the foundation for tyranny.
In fact, it is far easier to imagine a future authoritarian state backed by drones and digital surveillance than it is to picture one where soldiers or policemen with firearms play a major role. Facing such threats, a citizen armed with only a gun would be near-defenseless. Rather, digital tools or “cyberarms,” are what a citizen could use to resist, through protecting one’s online privacy, shrouding one’s physical location, or (theoretically) taking down a drone. (“Cyberarm” is still a fluid term, here used to mean software designed to protect citizens’ data, or expose the state’s data.)
One does not have to move into the realm of fantasy to appreciate a definition of “arms,” that includes software. In our time, violence has been largely discredited as a means of political expression. Firearms are explicitly weapons of violence, making them not particularly effective in defending our rights: a man with a gun is more likely to horrify society than to constructively influence it. Rather, digital tools are being used by citizens to protest things like police brutality and Internet censorship; they are even impacting the defense of our shores from foreign threats. Regardless of how one interprets the actions of new “militias,” like Anonymous, they matter. Traditional militias with guns cannot claim such relevance.
The use of cyberarms extends to the realm of personal protection. Thieves are realizing they can gain far more by stealing one’s identity, than by simply robbing one at gunpoint. Nothing will physically secure an individual like a legitimate handgun or pump-action shotgun; but, a firewall and secure Web servers are needed to best protect one’s property.
Many of the arguments made by today’s advocates for the Second Amendment are compelling, but in a world that existed 20 years ago. The number of rounds in one’s clip will not matter when combating a robot in the sky. Opposing surveillance of one’s location data and e-mail content is a far more meaningful defense of personal freedom than opposing a database for gun background checks. It is important that we embrace a rational gun policy that maintains legitimate access; yet it is essential to our safety and freedom that we put energy into defending relevant software.
My generation is the one that will have to live with the impacts of today’s policies. Lets make sure the conversation is grounded in today’s realities.
Warren Woodrich Pettine is a student at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.
Article printed from The Idea Log: http://blogs.denverpost.com/opinion
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