Yes, the Constitution gives us the right to bear arms. Specifically:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
We could debate endlessly the meaning of “a well regulated Militia” and whether such a thing could exist in this day and age. We could talk about keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. That’s all we have to do, after all, right? We have enough laws. We just have to enforce the laws we have and all will be well.
We could compare ourselves to other countries. Canadians have lots and lots of guns, for example. But they don’t shoot each other the way we do.
Why do we shoot each other? We could debate endlessly. For all our discussion, it happened again.
Today, Ruben Ivy, 18, a student at Crane High School in Chicago was shot and killed. The Chicago Sun-Times shows a black jacket laying in a pool of blood on the school’s front steps.
A puddle of blood and yellow police tape remain on the steps in front of Crane High School on Friday evening after an 18-year-old junior was killed and another student was beaten nearby in what police are calling gang-related incidents.
Police are looking for a male juvenile they believe is a suspect.
It happened again. Our children are killing children.
While we debate once again the merits of gun control, the fact is Ruben Ivy will not be the last young person shot. When children shoot children, the issues are systemic, and much deeper than guns. Some have suggested adding a $10 tax to individual bullets.
But remove guns from the mix, and what do we have left? Imagine for an instant that we have removed guns from our streets? What would be left that is driving our children to kill other children? What’s going on in the big picture?
I don’t have an answer tonight. I’m just trying to feel the question more deeply.