My neighbor's wall?

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.
          ~Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

Your own safety is at stake when your neighbor's wall is ablaze.
          ~Horace



It has been quite awhile since I have written a blog. This has been a busy summer's end and beginning of autumn. Our trip abroad, car shows, household projects, reconnecting with family and friends, and a quick trip to see the grandsons in Maryland have kept me occupied. And, with Christmas on the horizon (Lanny reported our local Menard's hardware store has their Christmas "Enchanted Village" display up, lit and available for sale!) I have begun the rush of knitting gifts.

But despite the busy-ness, I have been ruminating about something that has me more and more unsettled. Recent events here in the US and in the Indianapolis area have added to my discontent. I find I need to write out my thoughts in hopes of clarifying them for myself and perhaps generating some discussions with readers.

When we were in Switzerland, one of our guides and I had a conversation about guns here in the US and how it is so different in Switzerland. This young woman is Swiss, and described how in Switzerland everyone has a gun. National service in the Swiss military is a requirement for every young man, and optional for every young woman. While in the military, each person is issued a gun. It is theirs to keep. Yup, the government lets each person keep the gun they are issued while in the military. They are expected to keep it in good working order. Here's the catch-- nobody gets ammunition. It is illegal to sell ammunition in the country, or even to possess it in your home. Ammunition is stored in armories around the country. If you are a hunter, you can get it when you  apply for your hunting license, just for that hunting season. If you are in the police, your ammunition is kept at the police station. If you enjoy target shooting, you can obtain it when you go to the shooting range, just enough for your session there. Once you are out of the military, it is an expectation that you will serve in the reserves until you are retirement age. Every so often (I am thinking she said every 3 or 4 years, but I can't remember...) you go to brush up on your military skills (like the reserves do here only less often but for a longer period of time), and shooting guns is included in this. What this means is that in the event the country is attacked, they have an armed, prepared militia that can be called up immediately. The Swiss do not send troops to other countries (the Vatican is the only exception, where the Swiss Guard is famous for their service). They only send diplomats, and only participate in world politics on the diplomatic level. Switzerland is the site of the first League of Nations, and there is a UN location in Geneva. They are well known as peace makers, but are prepared to defend their country if it comes under attack. They have, in the words of our Constitution, a "well regulated militia".

I must admit that I like this idea. It has served the Swiss well-- this country is, by pretty much any measure you can use, the wealthiest country in the world. And almost zero violent crime. They have industrious citizens who do not shoot one another. 

Here in the US, and in Indiana particularly, the differences were glaringly clear this past week. We had an Indianapolis police officer gunned down when he responded to a domestic violence call. There was a convenience store clerk shot and killed during a robbery. Up in Chicago, the gun violence in the past week includes the driveby shooting of a 3 year old. And then there was the mass shooting at the Naval Yard in Washington, DC. And all the other mass shootings that have occurred in the last few years... and will occur again.

That shooting prompted media attention back to the gun control issue. I have listened to these accounts and thought about them a lot. I will admit to being a pacifist by nature-- I was during the Viet Nam war, and have continued to be during the Middle East wars. I am not a gun enthusiast-- not a hunter, or a target shooter. And I would not keep a weapon for self protection because I know myself well enough to know I would never be able to shoot it confidently enough to be safe.

I am also an American who believes in the Constitution, and in the rule of law. Our constitution protects the right of the people to keep arms.  And that is where I struggle-- how do we do both-- protect our people from what my 3 year old grandson calls "mean baddies"-- yet uphold our Constitution? The Swiss have found a way, but the longer I think about it, the more I realize that we have gone way past any ability to institute a Swiss system in this country. It can't work because our mentality here is so different. Listening to both sides of the gun control debate has made me realize how ardently some people believe in their gun ownership. For these people, any attempt to limit guns is an infringement on their Second Amendment right. And the more I talk to people who own and use guns, the more I realize that they are careful with the weapons, have learned how to care for and use them, and are not "mean baddies" at all. To coin a phrase, some of my best friends have guns. 

The issue is not black and white-- it can't be solved by either complete removal of guns from our society (the bumper sticker is right-- if you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have them...) or by unregulated guns for everyone. There has to be some kind of regulation of gun ownership. I know there are regulations currently, but evidence would suggest they aren't adequate to keep mentally unstable and/or violent people from owning and using them. I don't know what needs to be added or changed, and I am trying not to be naive in thinking regulations can police all irrational human behavior. But we have to begin. We have to stop shouting at one another, and sit down and listen. 

If we can't come together on this one, I fear our country will continue the shooting spree, and no one will be safe. The enemy is not outside our borders, it is our own intransigence.