Sunday, February 10, 2013
Some would use this post-tragedy era to legislate away the Second Amendment. Images of victims of gun violence are paraded, but absent are the stories where lives were saved due to armed citizens.
During the Senate’s first gun-control hearing, Dick Durbin, D-Ill., stated “he was troubled that some NRA members he’s spoken with who say they need their guns not just for hunting, target shooting and defending themselves against criminals, but to protect themselves ‘from our government, from the police.’” Directed toward NRA’s Wayne LaPierre, the statement received a disappointing response about people needing firearms to protect themselves during riots that often accompany natural disasters.
Many say a civil society should no longer need protection from government. Yet, evil exists. There are dangerous people. Some go on shooting sprees or use power for corrupt purposes. The Second Amendment was written to protect us from, among other dangers, government tyranny.
In 1997, at home in Bekasi, Indonesia, we were startled with explosions and machine gun fire from a group of U.S. Marines training Indonesian military in urban warfare. Within a year, Indonesian military employed these tactics on their own people in what became known as Black Friday.
Protests against Suharto stopped when the Indonesian army and police came in and killed between 12 to 30 students at Trisakti University in Jakarta. Riots spread rapidly, targeting Chinese-Indonesian areas.
Police stood passively by or participated in looting, raping and pillaging ethnic minorities. Indonesia has strict gun control. The only guns were in the hands of perpetrators, aimed at fathers as they watched their families brutally attacked. Against these odds, an AR-15 sounds like the perfect weapon. Eventually, Suharto resigned, with a staggering $40 billion amassed during his presidency.
In 2010, President Obama visited Indonesia, proclaiming it a shining example of democracy. Yet, corruption, collusion and nepotism are still rampant. When people resist injustices, weapons are used to “keep the peace.” Is this the vision of those who advocate gun control for our nation? If we take away guns, what next?
I am bothered by recent gun violence. I, like others, am disturbed at school shootings.
Taking away guns doesn’t stop violence. It’s not the answer. I dislike the prospect of guns being only in the hands of people in power. So, like many others, I am going to do my part to boost the economy.
I’m going to buy my first handgun.