Author Sam Harris has done what I didn’t think possible – he’s articulated a dispassionate and rational summation of the “gun situation” in the U.S.

revolver handgun, black

Mr. Harris is neither a cheerleader nor an adversary of guns and explores the questions surrounding such a complicated issue with clear eyes and full weight given to all arguments.

Do yourself a favor and read this article entitled “Riddle of the Gun” regardless of how much you think you know about the issue. I can promise you, there is a wealth of information you’ve never heard before, or at least not in this way.

As a disclaimer, I’m not a member of the NRA and I don’t own a gun personally. Additionally, I’m a parent of two small children who mean the world to me and I can’t begin to imagine the anguish of the parents of Newtown, CT, and would love more than anything to ensure such a thing never happens again.

I don’t think that “this isn’t the time for debate” as every moment is time for debate when it comes to things of great importance in our lives. Especially today, the debate will be raging and I don’t think you’re going to find a better, more even-handed take than Mr. Harris’ post on the subject.

Please read it and feel free to let me know your thoughts on the subject and I’d love to let you know mine. We all want the same things in the end: for our children to be safe, for less blood to be shed, and for a strong feeling of security. What we disagree with at the moment, is how to get there.

In the meantime, here’s a video of Harris speaking at a TED talk about moral relativism. This guy is brilliant.

Sam Harris – “Science can Show What’s Right”

6 responses to ““Riddle of the Gun” or, the Best Article I’ve Ever Read”

  1. […] If you’re conflicted at all about the subject, I can’t encourage you enough to read this post by Sam Harris on the subject immediately following Newtown, CT, that I’ve written about before. […]

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  2. […] If you’re conflicted at all about the subject, I can’t encourage you enough to read this post by Sam Harris on the subject immediately following Newtown, CT, that I’ve written about before. […]

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  3. There are other ways to stop mass shootings or at least minimize their likelihood; universal background checks where the default position is no gun can be purchased subject to appeal; universal registry so that transfers of guns can be traced like automobiles; GPS chips so that the number and location of operable weapons can be tracked in real time; fingerprint firing mechanism so that only the buyer or registered users can fire any particular weapon.

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    1. A few problems there (in the order you mentioned them): Enforcing universal background checks (on private sales) is impossible without a National Registry. A National Registry is impossible because 1. The political will isn’t there, and 2. Practically, how many of the 300 million guns in existence do you think will be registered? Very few, at best.
      GPS chips would require batteries, and they’d have to be charged, plus you don’t have them on the 300 million guns out there. Nevermind, they could be viewed as an infringement of the 2nd amendment. Ditto.
      None of these “solutions” are reasonable, practical, or even remotely possible, in most situations. The easiest is to require background checks on private sales, but that amount of good that does you is next to nill. It wouldn’t have stopped Vegas, or any recent shooting on record.

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  4. Thanks for your writings, and for sharing Harris’ article. I think he does bring up a lot of important things, but I also think that he’s a prime example of the kind of “Yes, but” mentality that is draining our energies. Anyone who starts a sentence with mass shootings and then says “but” is not really helping, imo. 😦

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  5. Could you help me? I didn’t understand the last sentence in Sam Harris’ article. I am a Brazilian in Brazil.

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