It took only minutes before people began to exploit the tragedy in Las Vegas for their political agendas regarding gun laws. It’s so unfortunate, too, because instead of finding solutions for real problems, stupidity was spread to the ignorant that follow. As a result, many good people whose hearts may be in the right spot play a part in the continual erosion of freedom and liberty. So let’s talk about gun laws.

Of course, their concerns are real. Many people are spoon-fed these tragedies via the news, and they are provided the scapegoat. These examples include things like “ghost guns,” “automatic ammunition,” and so on. The answer that is always provided in response to these scary fictions is more gun laws – in spite of the fact that the thousands of gun laws already on the books haven’t stopped a single tragedy from happening. Unfortunately, the ignorant are unaware that much of what they are being told is fiction, but they believe the narrative anyway because they are hearing it from their favorite media source, and they refuse to believe that the media is capable of flat-out lying to them – about guns or anything else. For clarity, there is no such thing as a “ghost gun” or “automatic ammunition.” These are just scary things the media and politicians have invented to scare you. They sound believable when you don’t examine what is being said, so the ignorant buy into it.

I think it’s important to note that many of those reporters that report on firearms and the politicians that try to ban them don’t really know what they are talking about. They are ignorant of firearms, and their fear is rooted in ignorance. This fear tends to transfer to their ignorant readers and/or followers. It’s not long before we see social media posts like this:

Can we all agree that having STRICTER gun laws is not a bad idea? As in requiring people to take a pretty comprehensive exam in order to use and discharge a lethal weapon, an item that is specifically designed to kill? I mean really, no one is trying to take your guns away – it just wouldn’t hurt to set up more and frequent barriers. Don’t even tell me that this is not the time to talk about it – this has been on my mind since those precious babies died at Sandy Hook and not a day passes by where I don’t think about the possibility of someone doing that at my kids’ school. People should absolutely talk about it – civilly and respectfully. There are lives and loved ones at stake.

To answer the question directly – No! We cannot agree on that. We cannot agree on that at all. Ignoring for a moment the idea that there are numerous laws against murdering someone and they have yet to stop anyone from doing it, and ignoring for a moment that all the exams and laws would not and will not stop someone from getting so angry that they feel the need to take their rage out on the world, and ignoring the fact that laws surrounding guns are already extremely rigid even though it is supposed to be a natural right on par with speech or religion… we need to consider a few certain realities. I concede that Las Vegas was tragic; of course, we still do not have all the details. However, there are plenty of other things that are much more tragic, and I don’t see anyone freaking out about them. Why? It’s because the left-wing media isn’t repeatedly talking about it twenty-four hours a day.

Everyone needs to understand that the Second Amendment is an inalienable right. This means it cannot be licensed, adjusted, altered, traded, or taken away. Yet, gun owners across this country have been forced to set that fact aside and subscribe to licenses and permits – which by definition, are special permissions for something that would otherwise be illegal. Define irony if the Second Amendment is a right. Gun owners are forced to register their participation, pay fees for their participation, go through background checks for their participation, be told they cannot participate in certain areas, and so on. Their reward for being nice and following these ridiculous rules is that they are automatically demonized for their participation the second any criminal breaks the law using a firearm. Let me be clear about something. If people were forced to go through these same steps to participate in their local church or to speak out and protest, they would have a civil war on their hands.

Let’s talk about another irony. The death toll in Las Vegas was 58, and everyone is talking about it. On the other hand, in September 2017, Chicago had 57 gun murders, and there was no national outcry. Why? One of the reasons the masses are not crying on television about Chicago is that the national media doesn’t talk about it. They should! It’s actually a HUGE tragedy! In 2016, 762 people were killed by firearms in Chicago, and there were 4,331 shooting victims. People are dying there daily, and the media refuses to talk about that failed liberal experiment. Perhaps it’s because the vast majority of these cases are criminals shooting criminals, and if the media addresses it, they will expose and destroy their own agenda. This is because, as many gun owners will tell you, Chicago has some pretty strict laws. Are any of those laws stopping criminals from getting guns and killing each other? Clearly not. Chicago also requires gun owners to get permits. Do you think the criminal gang members are getting permits? Of course not! So what good is another law really going to be? The truth is that it’s not going to do any good at all, and they know it.

Again, there are plenty of tragedies that we could discuss, but we are dealing with a perspective issue, and many on the left simply do not have it. So what if we replaced the gun tragedy in these social media cries with various other tragedies that we are dealing with? Would it make sense or sound ridiculous? Let’s try it. Maybe this is the only way that I can demonstrate my point in a way that will make sense.

Let’s start with drugs.

Can we all agree that having STRICTER drug laws is not a bad idea? As in requiring people to take a pretty comprehensive exam in order to use prescription painkillers, items that are known to kill? I mean really, no one is trying to take your drugs away – it just wouldn’t hurt to set up more and frequent barriers. Don’t even tell me that this is not the time to talk about it – this has been on my mind since it was discovered that overdoses are now the leading cause of death of Americans under the age of 50 and that it is getting worse by the day. Not a day passes by where I don’t think about the possibility of some teacher using them at my kids’ school. People should absolutely talk about it – civilly and respectfully. There are lives and loved ones at stake.

Speaking of drugs…

Can we all agree that having STRICTER prescription psychotropic drug laws is not a bad idea? As in requiring everyone to take a pretty comprehensive exam in order to use prescription psychotropic drugs, items that are almost always associated with mass shooters and random acts of violence? I mean really, no one is trying to take your drugs away – it just wouldn’t hurt to set up more and frequent barriers. Don’t even tell me that this is not the time to talk about it – this has been on my mind since it was discovered that psychotropic drugs (including some drugs used to treat ADHD) are linked with nearly every mass shooting incident as well as multiple instances of suicide and isolated shootings over the last twenty years or so. Not a day passes by where I don’t think about the possibility of some medicated kid or teacher unleashing their hidden rage at my kids’ school. People should absolutely talk about it – civilly and respectfully. There are lives and loved ones at stake.

Or what about automobiles?

Can we all agree that having STRICTER driving laws is not a bad idea? As in requiring people to take a pretty comprehensive exam in order to use and drive a lethal weapon? I mean really, no one is trying to take your car away – it just wouldn’t hurt to set up more and frequent barriers. Don’t even tell me that this is not the time to talk about it – this has been on my mind since Nice, France, when a large truck was driven into a crowd and killed 86 people and injured 458 others and of course, considering that car crashes kill more people in the United States than firearms could dream of and considering people break laws in a vehicle every day (speeding, drinking, texting, etc.) and don’t even think twice about it – and not a day passes by where I don’t think about the possibility of someone driving near my kids’ school. People should absolutely talk about it – civilly and respectfully. There are lives and loved ones at stake.

Or what about Healthcare?

Can we all agree that having FEWER doctors is not a bad idea? As in requiring would-be doctors to take a pretty comprehensive exam in order to be placed into a position to cut into people and prescribe LETHAL drugs, things known to kill? I mean really, no one is trying to take your health away – it just wouldn’t hurt to set up more and frequent barriers. Don’t even tell me that this is not the time to talk about it – this has been on my mind since researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine found that medical errors rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States (just behind heart disease and cancer… and it FAR outpaces that of firearm deaths) and not a day passes by where I don’t think about the possibility of someone practicing medicine at my kids’ school. People should absolutely talk about it – civilly and respectfully. There are lives and loved ones at stake.

This next one will upset a few people.

Can we all agree that having FEWER cops is not a bad idea? As in requiring would-be cops to take a pretty comprehensive exam in order to be placed into a position where they are issued a LETHAL weapon, an item that is specifically designed to kill? I mean really, no one is trying to take your safety away – it just wouldn’t hurt to set up more and frequent barriers. Don’t even tell me that this is not the time to talk about it – this has been on my mind since researchers identified 6,724 cases involving the arrests of 5,545 sworn officers across the nation between 2005 and 2011. That’s an average of 1,000 arrests per year for crimes such as simple assault, DUI, aggravated assault, forcible fondling and forcible rape — including some victims under the age of 18. Alarmingly, 41 percent of the total crimes were committed while on duty and 72 percent of the arrest cases resulted in convictions. These men are simply handed firearms because of their job title and they are put into a position that easily allows them to abuse their power. I have kids under 18 and not one day passes by where I don’t think about the possibility of some cop patrolling at my kids’ school. Besides… they have yet to stop a successful mass shooting. People should absolutely talk about it – civilly and respectfully. There are lives and loved ones at stake.

Or let’s just get REALLY stupid and say…

Can we all agree that having ANY genital laws is not a bad idea? As in requiring people to take a pretty comprehensive exam in order to have genitals, things that are known to destroy lives? I mean really, no one is trying to take your pleasure or procreation away – it just wouldn’t hurt to set up more and frequent barriers. Don’t even tell me that this is not the time to talk about it – this has been on my mind since it was discovered that a sexual assault happens every 98 seconds in this country (and every 8 minutes, it’s a child) and not a day passes by where I don’t think about the possibility of someone having genitals at my kids’ school. People should absolutely talk about it – civilly and respectfully. There are lives and loved ones at stake.

Do you see what I mean? Do these sound as ridiculous to you as they do to me? They are tragic, and no one is saying they are not, but to pretend that firearms are a bigger issue or a more dangerous killer is simply asinine. Plenty of things kill many more people than firearms. And I know what some will say… “it’s different.” Actually, they’re not. Your ability to justify it is the only thing that changes the perception, and I could probably write a book doing this for every problem that we face.

Laws don’t stop tragedies. There are already lots of laws in place to stop horrible people from doing terrible things or to stop people from abusing things they shouldn’t. Have they helped? There are laws against rape, sexual assault, drug abuse, suicide, and even murder. Yet, all of these laws haven’t stopped terrible things from happening. They never have, and they never will. Bad people will do bad things without any regard for what any law says. Criminals will commit crimes. That’s why outlaws are called outlaws – because they live outside of the law.

Here is something to consider, though. Good “LAW-ABIDING” citizens follow laws. These are the people you don’t have to worry about. Ironically, good people are the ones that stop bad things from happening or prevent them from getting worse once they begin. The only thing that these restrictive laws do is stop or restrict the good people from stopping the bad guys when they decide to do their evil deeds. I’m not sure why this is so hard to understand.

In regard to the gun situation specifically, let me tell you something very directly. Even cops agree that active shooter scenarios will usually be over before the police have a chance to respond. Wouldn’t it make more sense to enable good law-abiding citizens to react when a tragedy strikes rather than crying over the numerous dead bodies as you wonder why the laws that made murder illegal didn’t stop someone from murdering?

Comedian Amiri King said it best: “Forks don’t make you fat. Beer doesn’t drink and drive. Knives don’t chop people up. Spray paint doesn’t write racist graffiti. Guns don’t kill people.” It’s true, which means that enacting more gun laws is not the answer we seek. I want you to understand that the more you restrict good people, the more tragedies you will see. It really is that simple.

It’s time we start looking at our world differently. I want to help. Check out my article titled “What Should We Blame Mass Shootings On?“