Observations From the Spectrum

We all benefit from evolution whether or not we see or accept it or not. Man’s primary evolutuionary tool is the ability to think and reason. One plus one equals two. Math that is the answer. Math rarely lies. The only time it does is when the user makes a mistake. American Guns have a similar story.

Guns are the same. Their origin form was a single shot with a knife on the end that you used as a lance because the one shot rarely did anything especially in inclement weather. That was the Arms the founders were referring to when writing the Constitution. Muskets. Not AR-15s or Glocks. Strangely enough, many who support the 2nd Amendment still believe in creationism only as it pertains to them. We wouldn’t be here today if we were discussing privately owned muskets. 

Math is based on logic. Logic is based on the ability to connect the dots in a meaningful way by making inferences and predictions. We call this process thinking and thinking is the ability to create tools and solve problems. Tools are what separate us from animals. Lots of cool animals out there but none that make tools to solve real world problems. Unfortunately, many of the problems today are also caused by man.

Fact is we would never have survived this far without the ability to problem solve and make tools. For this brain journey I am focused on one problem specifically, the gun problem in America. If you would like to read more, here is another on the same topic with a different angle: Weapons: Is there a line?.

For starters, I am a fan of evolution in all forms from smoke signals to voice messages and all that has come between. That is the evolution of communication and if you are reading this, you are reaping its rewards. Gore-Tex to keep us dry, airplanes to travel long distances, French presses because I like coffee and computers as we know them have all evolved from their beginnings to what they are today. 

But let’s put aside the musket vs AR-15 debate for a minute. I think that speaks clearly enough on its own and focus on the math of gun violence in America and see if the numbers add up to taking action or not. To deciding whether or not the 2nd Amendment as it stands does more harm than good or more good than harm.

In 2017, there were roughly 394,000,000 guns in the hands of Americans. Of those guns, 1,000,000 were registered. That’s plucking insane. Apparently, we are more interested in keeping track of women’s ovaries and our pets than we are of a tool designed for one purpose. Killing. Even the doctor who perfroms abortion has to be trained and licensed to do so or they will have their medical licensese revoked and be held criminally accountable for their actions. But not with guns?

Even putting the lack of licensed firearms and users aside, the math paints an even grimmer picture. Americans in America are being killed at an alarming rate at the end of the barrel of guns. The narrative that we need guns to protect ourselves doesn’t add up to even 1%. In 2020, there were 45,222 deaths by firearms in America. Now, that number in and of itself suggests that owning a gun and practicing to use it is necessary because gun violence is frequent. Well, it is frequent but not in how you think.

After researching this data to see if the data told a different story so that I could be more understanding of gun ownership, the math led me down a different path. Out of those 45,222 deaths in America by firearm use, 200 were legal intervention deaths which includes those killed legally by the police and those at the hands of gun owners like Kyle Rittenhouse.. 

For shits and giggles, I’m not giggling, let’s say those 200 deaths were all just. They were homeowners and law enforcement officials protecting those that needed protecting including themselves. That equals 0.004% of the deaths in America by guns were legal and righteous. It also says that 99.996% were not.

So unlike the seatbelt, which saves about 50% of the drivers in accidents, guns save almost no one but take the lives of most when used as designed or inappropriately. The math tells a story and the story is simple. If you support gun rights as they are today, you support the death of 45,000 of your neighbors. Plain and simple. It’s a logical conclusion. So the question becomes what’s more important to you? The 2nd Amendment or the 5th  Comandment. 

And I get that the second amendment is about protecting ourselves and I am for self protection and preservation. What I am not for is being anti-change against the evolution of tools and how we use them. No one wants to return to smoke signals or outhouses. The fact is we like indoor plumbing and cellphones. Guns have changed. How we use and regulate them should change too.

The data shows that there are very few instances where a civilian protecting a person or home is using a gun. That’s a lie to sell products. The data presents a completely different story. Almost all deaths are found to be criminal by nature as either murder, negligence or assault.

And to those who think we may have a revolution, we may but it will be one by those with the most money. Those who think their AR-15 peashooters are a match for a drone being driven by an expert a 100 miles away are fools. Whoever has the side of the army and supply chain will win. That’s the system we fostered and allowed to be built. The peashooter against the best army ever known to man will do very little.

I don’t know what legislation needs to be passed but if only 0.004% of all kills by firearms in America are just, it does suggest that those who are against an overhaul of the Second Amendment are pro-murder. That’s not me passing judgement, that’s the math telling a clear story and pointing me in a clear direction.