Chappie Gets Asked a Question: How are Gun Owners Different from Muslims?

Though I commenced to grinding my teeth upon reading the following words from a reader/friend manning a lonely outpost on the shores of Lake Michigan, once I engaged my brain I recognized that it is a fair question. The words referred to go,

"...[You, Chappie, are] pretty harsh on gun ownership in general. You lampoon gun owners as Neanderthals, wackos, and reprobates - as a general class. Yet you, above others, are adamant that all Muslims are not to be judged by the action of a fringe group of fanatics. I think you should ponder this."

 I should. Where to begin?  Well, for starters Chappie knows that gun owners are overwhelmingly no better and no worse that any other group of Americans. Yikes! Since 33% of us may be gun owners or live in homes where there are guns, GOs are larger than any religion or political party we have. Catholics are only 27%!  It is also obvious that most gun owners probably don't identify themselves as wacked out paranoids and don't act politically in accord with this narrow and bizarre (and phony) identity of GO. I say "phony" because the entire premise of Wayne La Pierre's religion is a fantasy. A lot of his support may one day prove to be a fantasy as well. I sure hope so. Until Wayne & Co (the NRA) raised the non-issue and began getting rich many years ago, there was no issue. Chicken Little had the same insight in another dimension... by the way, the NRA still provides excellent technical firearms instruction as a side dish to it's now principal purpose--the political role in service to the firearms manufacturers (lobbyist)...

Arizona couple target shooting  (Joshua Lott/Reuters)

Anyway, I'm wandering and being unnecessarily controversial. I'm a liberal and I don't want to take away anyone's guns. I want those so inclined to buy more guns (as they, as a shrinking group, seem to be doing) in the certain knowledge that no one is as endangered by their guns as they are. Studies show that firearm ownership is actually in decline. The third of American who own or live with firearms today is down from 50% in 1980. Smoking rates have similarly tumbled in these years...maybe we're smarter than we know?  The fact is that gun ownership is dangerous to one's health.

White males 65 and older (like me) are the group most likely to use their firearms to kill themselves. Holy Smokes! Nearly 20,000 Americans killed themselves with firearms in 2010. Read that sentence again. How many do you imagine did it last year? And, here's the catch: every one was either a gun owner or lived with a gun owner.  And yet GOs are worried that liberals like me want to take their guns away?  That's enough about that.

I guess this is a good time to ask if I'm lampooning or ridiculing gun owners?  Well? I can't say that I respect them as a self-identified group: quite the contrary in view of their mass delusion of increased safety. But I can't honestly say that I limit my identification of and respect for more than a tiny group of  economically motivated fanatics to the "gun owner" label.  If I lived in the country, I almost certainly would be a gun owner, too. I love to shoot a 1911 .45 as long as it belongs to someone else and they have lots of ammo. I'm not made of money!

Next let's get to the main course and compare gun owners and Muslims, ignoring the fact that in some cases the two are one and the same. First, both have some of the characteristics of a religion. Muslims have the Koran and gun owners have... well, they don't necessarily read...Wait a minute, Old Chap, that is more than a bit harsh. Stick to your purpose: a fair examination of the original charge.

I could observe that Islam is one of the world's great religions and "gun owners", as I have made clear, is an American religious cult. I think there is some validity to this characterization. Neither will listen to any criticism of their core beliefs. I'll take a pass on any need to justify this remark vis a vis Islam and pass onto a consideration of GO (not the Japanese board game but my moniker for the gun owners cult.)

Do gun owners universally revere The Shooter's Bible (107th ed.)?  I have no idea. I doubt it very much. What GO do revere and refer to constantly are the words "second amendment right". However, they NEVER actually quote the brief but specific wording of the amendment. Only their opponents do. Seriously. Odd, don't you think?  But understandable in that they probably find the reference to "well-regulated militia" off-putting and having little to do with the SCOTUS's bizarre decisions in DC v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago.  These decisions have created the kinds of cognitive dissonance in thinking people not experienced since Dred Scott v. Standford and Plessy v. Ferguson to pick just the most famous. How about First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978) which opened the door to all corporate money in politics? What did you say? Citizens Uni-?  OK, OK, I'm not here to argue the law (though I have been doing so.)  I'm making the point that many SCOTUS decisions are grossly off  (politically inspired) a great deal of the time. People left and right should agree with this observation. Let's get back to our comparison.
                                                                          
Though Islam is the great proselytizing religion of the current day, most Muslims are born Muslims just as is true with the members of all religions. We are generally born what we are and some few choose to change. The same is true of political affiliation as well. Are most gun owners BORN gun owners? Don't know (can't know) but I am sure that a great many are. Many inherit firearms. There are said to be 300,000,000 in the US. Nonetheless, it is certain that the ranks of GOs have been swelled  significantly by political efforts over the past 35 years. It would be very interesting to know the numbers on these things. The crusade to "preserve" gun ownership (really handgun ownership until the rise of the military-style assault rifle) against a liberal "plot to disarm America" has come along since Chappie was a little chap. Back in those days, guns were non-controversial. There were probably a lot more people hunting then, too.  Then came Wayne LaPierre (the same age as Chappie!) but that's another story....

Islam is as legitimate and worthy of respect as any of the world's great religions are. Or disrespect if militant atheism is your thing. But said religions are life systems with long histories. The GO is a cult and will probably not become a religion (though a merger with The Church of Scientology might increase the chances...), no matter how beautiful many people find the objects of their veneration.

Smith & Wesson 1911 .45 automatic (photographer unknown)

To conclude, I would agree with my original interlocutor that the members of no group "be judged by the action of a fringe group of fanatics." It was never my intention to give that impression. I would suggest that each individual consider his or her alliances and whether they conform with their deep beliefs and best interests. Islam is in crisis and most Muslims know it. I want my fellow citizen gun owners to consider only how the presence of firearms in their homes and in their lives serves their actual security and health.

Chappie will be considering some approaches to the maintenance of a healthy "gun culture" in a future posting if he discovers that he actually gives a damn....