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Interested in our ever-changing laws on gun ownership and the right to carry/transport firearms? Me too, so much so that my book Parallels includes a chapter on the subject, entitled “War Games: Little Boys Playing with Guns.” It’s a topic of great interest and importance to me, partly because my late father and another man–both major subjects in the book–were severely wounded by automatic rifles during politically motivated and bungled assassination attempts. Each man sought U.S. citizenship but arrived here in two hugely different eras: post-WW2 America and 21st-century isolationism. Those two historical moments differ mainly in changed official attitudes toward immigration.

I have the four illegally modified “dumdums” (bullets with two crossed lines filed deeply into their noses for maximum tissue damage) surgically removed from my father in 1944. I’ve seen the row of scars marching along one arm of my friend “Abel,” who peacefully protested against his government in the present century.

Today’s “gun rights” argument: based on fictionalized history?

The Second Amendment of the Constitution reads as follows: “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.” It was written in 1789, shortly after the Continental Army vanquished the British Army, whose soldiers were defeated by civilian “rebels” trained by professional soldiers like George Washington. At the time, Britain had the most advanced and powerful navy in the world and an Army as formidable as any in Europe.

How did this unusual scenario lead to victory for the American colonies? It had a lot to do with the involvement of external forces, for example, the French Navy’s blockade of Chesapeake Bay late in 1781.

The colonists embodied the “well regulated militias” of the time; their battlefield success was partly due to irregular tactics like wearing less conspicuous uniforms than those of the “redcoats”; sometimes fighting from behind defensive obstacles like buildings, trees and boulders; and benefiting from the superior accuracy of long-barreled hunting rifles versus close-quarter, smoothbore muskets, standard issue for British regulars. Fully automatic pistols and rifles (capable of firing multiple projectiles with one trigger-pull), even semi-automatic guns (capable of firing only one projectile per trigger-pull but instantly making another bullet ready for the next shot), weren’t even on the drawing board yet. In today’s world, where gun-rights advocates deliberately confuse the historical realities that existed in 1789 with those existing now, no one can afford to be fuzzy on the meaning of the terms printed above in bold type. If you aren’t clear on any of the terms, a quick online search will clarify them; you don’t have to be a “gun-nut” to be interested in topics that obsess some enthusiasts and drive dangerous legislation.

The ubiquitous AK-47

Today, the fully automatic AK-47 appears on the flag of Mozambique, celebrating the weapon of choice for political revolt. Any man, woman or child armed with one becomes the equal of a whole platoon with lesser armament. That’s why the Russian-manufactured gun appears on the flag of an African nation that recently changed governments through an armed rebellion. Like the familiar hammer-and-sickle emblem on flags of many communist countries, the AK-47 is crossed over a farming implement, blending themes of armed struggle and productive labor–the symbols of proletarian revolt.

Mike Bloomberg, former mayor of New York, once confused the terms “fully and semi-automatic” during a televised interview. Not a good thing, since he’s still active in political discourse.

As citizens of every social stratum, including the current president, personally experience gun violence, do we really want further watering down of restrictions on both purchasing and carrying of firearms? (Contrary to absurd conspiracy theories, there’s no way Trump could have staged the long-distance shot that could easily have killed him.) The proponents of watering down legal firearms laws like to refer to their cause as a “freedom,” one based on an American “history” not truly understood.

Are fully-auto weapons good for anything except warfare?

To my knowledge, gun rights advocates haven’t explained why fully automatic firearms would ever be used in legal hunting of wild animals. (I did see a TV biography of Buffalo Bill that described the near-extermination of the North American bison by that colorful folk hero and other like-minded hunters who would gladly have used submachine guns, had those weapons been available.) Many buffalo hunters were actually U.S. Army scouts, engaged not only in a lucrative commercial business but also the destruction of Plains Indians’ major food source.

And if the average citizen is unlikely to encounter open warfare against masses of enemy soldiers in or around his house, why does he need an infantryman’s fully automatic weapon?

Gun rights, animal rights and human rights

Today, wild animals have more legal protection than human beings from the ever-present superabundance of guns in the hands of the mentally ill, underaged, or criminally inclined. The cases where “a good guy with a gun is the best defense against a bad guy with a gun,” as cited by former National Rifle Association CEO Wayne La Pierre, may be significantly offset by trigger-happy gun owners who shoot unconfirmed “burglars” through closed doors. Even one such death–and there have been many–could be prevented by locked entrances, well lighted home exteriors, security cameras, and calling 911 when necessary.

In high-crime urban areas where concealed weapons are widespread and easily obtainable, statistics suggest that crime rates haven’t declined as a result. Trump sees crime as a problem especially in blue-state cities where statistics don’t support his opinion, yet he sends ICE storm-troopers although local police seem to have things under control.

Today’s “well regulated militia” are municipal and state police and, if the need arises, each state’s National Guard. They are less likely to do serious harm than vigilantes or masked, inexperienced, hastily recruited federal goons.

And I didn’t even have to mention all the school shootings, attacks on houses of worship, and mass murders inflicted on crowds for no clear reason. After all, this is a blog, not a book.

For more information on gun laws, see Chapter 9, “War Games: Little Boys Playing With Guns” in my book Parallels. Order a copy or read a sample by clicking a button below: