In the 1920s the 18th amendment went into effect. This amendment made the manufacture, sale and distribution of alcohol illegal in the United States. Immediately following this the manufacture, sale, transportation and use of alcohol increased exponentially – along with gang violence. The war on alcohol failed and in the 1933s the 21st amendment repealed the 18th. Alcohol was legal again.
In the 1980s President Ronald Reagan began the War on Drugs. This was done without any amendment. It was done by executive power. Every president since then has increased the war. Similar to the War on Alcohol the result of this war was the increased use, manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs, as well as an increase in violence. The War on Drugs is lost – but neither side will admit it.
Immediately following mass shootings politicians call for increased gun laws. I appreciate their resolve, but consider that it is already unlawful to bring a gun into a school. This didn’t stop Adam Lanza. Furthermore, gun purchase and access is already greatly restricted in Connecticut. This also didn’t stop Adam from murdering his mother and stealing her guns. Is it necessary for me to point out that theft and murder are already criminalized? This didn’t stop Adam.
The War on Guns started long ago when our politicians began enacting laws that only restrict a law-abiding person’s access to guns and believe that defense should be left in the hands of others.
If previous wars are any indication then the War on Guns will be lost too. We will see an increase in illegal use, and the law abiding citizen – that doesn’t need a law to tell him don’t steal or murder – will be left without the means to defend himself from those that will not obey those laws.
The recent shootings in Connecticut are the result of that war being lost.
Chris Stafford
Kalispell