Why do people idolize guns? Because they’re afraid.
There are at least a few people who are extremely unhappy about the passage of Initiative 594 in Washington state, which closes the so-called “background check loophole” and requires all gun transfers to go through a licensed firearm dealer. According to this article:
In Washington State last week, voters gave a 60 percent majority to Initiative 594 — an initiative that closes the gun show loophole. It requires that all gun transfers — with a few exceptions — must go through a licensed firearms dealer.
It takes effect next month. And right after it does, this man plans to go to the state capitol, and defy it.
“We’re going to pass guns. We’re going to encourage people to freely buy and sell guns. We’re going to violate I-594 in every possible way because it’s void and we’re declaring it publicly that I-594 will not be tolerated,” says [name redacted because I don’t want him finding this post on a search engine and inviting his supporters over here to hijack the comments], a professional photographer and gun owner who is organizing the “I Will Not Comply Rally.”
You hear that, liberals? Will NOT be tolerated! Because…guns! And freedom! And…’murica!
The Facebook page for the group started by this guy describes gun possession as a “birthright” — as in, endowed by God himself.
That’s not a joke. The fiercest gun rights proponents believe it with every fiber of their being. In their view, the right to bear arms is very much divine in nature and cannot be undermined in any way by mortal beings. (Which Bible verse says that again?)
These people are also very, very, very loud. Deafeningly loud. So loud, in fact, that I started to question the various polls leading up to November 4, which showed Initiative 594 passing by nearly a two-thirds majority. All of the discussion threads on web articles about the measure were flooded with nothing but invective from gun zealots, who asserted that the passage of this law would be tantamount to the installation of totalitarianism.
And yet voters resoundingly approved it. The loudest folks in the debate were, in fact, a minority.
It makes me wonder why. Why do some people feel so emotionally attached to lethal weapons? Why do guns get some people more riled up than almost anything else at all? Why do some treat even the mere suggestion of gun control of any kind — no matter how reasonable or benevolent it may be — as though it’s a vicious attack on one of their very own children?
I don’t know the answer to that, but I have a theory. I think it’s fear.
See, deep down, a lot of people feel powerless and afraid. Actually, all of us do at some point, because ultimately, we really are powerless. The only question is how we deal with that reality.
Guns represent a logical coping mechanism, because they provide a (false) sense of power, strength, and control.
Now, let’s be clear: It’s nothing more than an illusion, but that doesn’t matter. What people are desperately seeking is some way to cope with and channel their fears into something manageable.
This is why some really are persuaded by the inane suggestion that the “right to bear arms” will somehow save us from a hypothetically tyrannical government (as though the U.S. military isn’t equipped with tanks, an air force, and enough munitions and bombs to blow the entire world into oblivion, gun-toting civilians notwithstanding).
It’s why the NRA has been so successful at exploiting this issue — and blackmailing lawmakers — all for the sake of padding the profits of gun manufacturers. (You know why gun sales went up drastically in the year following the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut? Yep. Fear.)
And yes, it’s why some people treat even the mere suggestion of the most rudimentary forms of gun control as though they’re the path straight back to the Third Reich.
I’m not saying that everyone who owns guns is dominated by fear. Hardly. I’d probably own at least one myself if I lived out in the middle of nowhere.
But even then I wouldn’t be opposed to reasonable restrictions on gun possession, ownership, and use, just like I’m not opposed to reasonable restrictions on driving or possession of a car, even though I own one.
I am saying that there has to be an explanation for why some people — such as the guy profiled in the article cited above — go as far as to treat guns like false gods. And fear, I think, is a very likely suspect.
