Gun rights versus gun control is a debate that, in theory, is non-partisan.
However, we also tend to know where and how various parties will fall on the issue based on their party affiliation. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part, Republicans are more likely to support gun rights while Democrats are more likely to support gun control.
But, as in most things, there are exceptions. We've seen plenty of them.
And one of those exceptions penned an op-ed for the Minnesota Star-Tribune about the liberal case for the Second Amendment.
As a lifelong liberal and a longtime firearm owner, I am well-acquainted with the cognitive dissonance my identity seems to provoke. In a political climate defined by rigid binaries, I find myself at an intersection that many seem to believe cannot exist. However, my defense of the Second Amendment is not born of partisan dogma, but of a data-driven commitment to self-reliance and constitutional integrity.
The limits of “doing something”
We must first acknowledge the profound grief felt by our community. Living just two miles from Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, I pass the site daily. The tragedy that occurred there last summer was a senseless act of nihilism that defies easy comprehension. It is natural and deeply human to demand that Minnesota legislators “do something” in the wake of such horror.
Yet, while I share the diagnosis of the problem (the unacceptable toll of violence) I must dissent from the ostensibly popular prescription. Advocacy for restrictive gun control often stems from a place of genuine empathy, but empathy is not a substitute for effective public policy. Outsourcing one’s personal safety entirely to the state is a historical and practical gamble I am unwilling to make.
Honestly, I could have written those last two paragraphs myself, other than not living close to that particular shooting location. There is an unacceptable toll of violence. The idea of gun control, though, while it often does stem from a genuine desire to address the problem, but the outsourcing issue is foolish. I've said much the same, as have many of you.
The author describes himself as a JFK-type liberal and says he supported the ACLU and the NRA, though he let his membership in the latter lapse in the 1990s. He's not "one of us" when it comes to most political issues, sure, but the truth of the matter is that a lot of people on the left aren't going to listen to us when we warn about the dangers of "outsourcing one's personal safety entirely to the state."
He floats a list of policies he thinks would work better, and there are some solid ideas there, such as improved mental health resources and targeted security, meaning people like school resource officers, in high-risk places like schools or churches. These are decent proposals, though they don't go far enough for me.
Then again, he's in Minnesota, where my proposals wouldn't even be listened to.
And that's where the liberal gun owner matters.
Like it or not, for as long as it's tenable for one side or the other to propose gun control and not lose elections, our right to keep and bear arms will continue to be under threat.
If we want to secure them once and for all, doing so needs to become a legitimately nonpartisan issue. There needs to be massive support for our right to keep and bear arms from both sides of the political divide. Both Democrats and Republicans need to be worried about losing elections over the issue of gun control. It needs to be one of those things that no one will support because no one wants to lose their seat.
It's just that simple, and to do that, we need people like the writer, Paul Thoresen, among other liberal gun owners.
Until then, we'll be in an existential battle with no guarantee of victory.
This doesn't mean compromise, mind you. It means reaching out and encouraging the other side to wake up to what gun rights mean for us all.
Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.
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