by Mark A. Cohen
Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert (R)
Most of you always thought the way you do today. Making political decisions came easy for you, but not for me. To use President Obama’s term, my positions always evolve. I find myself sifting through each question and evaluating, turning the coin over, and over. I think and think again, sometimes seeming never to arrive at a final conclusion. You may be open-minded, but I’m always up for considering any new idea. This is often painful and tiring for me. So, welcome to my world!
At a gun hearing on Jan. 30, 2013, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) said, “Violence is a big problem… We must do something!” As a co-worker of mine says, the question is, “What?” What must we do, and why must we rush - out of our minds and out of control, to pass legislation, anything, something? Colorado State Representative Chris Holbert (R-CO), spoke sensibly about the gun control issue (and others) at a meeting of Douglas County Republicans. I nodded through most of the speech. Yes, of course we need to uphold the Second Amendment (capitalized for a reason), our right to arm ourselves. Picture images of mass-murderers, wide-eyed and troubled. I thought, “We don’t want those like them to get weapons, do we?” Mr. Holbert then asked whether we support universal background checks.
As I began to nod again, Rep. Holbert asked us to think twice. He raised some interesting questions. Universal background checks – what are they (define them) and how would we implement these rules? What about the gun handed down from father to son, mother to daughter? Would the government require every person down the line to re-register the same weapon (taxing the same family each time)? Does that much interference make sense? No, it doesn’t. If the feds stick their noses into your gifting practices, then what stops them from asking you to register your fine cutlery, your pocket knife, or your tools?
”Surely he wants to stop the crazy guys from getting guns, he must believe in checks for them, I thought.” During Rep. Holbert’s discussion I thought of politicians enacting a law which insists that psychiatrists evaluate each patient’s mental capability relative to owning a gun. “So much power,” I thought. “Why should we entrust the thought police, or anyone else, for that matter, with such responsibility?” Rep. Chris Holbert made me think more deeply about the subject, as should we all.
Just read about the knee-jerk reactions some Second Amendment opponents in my state, Colorado, recently expressed on the gun control issue. If this is proposed legislation and if they pass them as laws - please observe - and keep track of what happens afterward. I am an optimist, but don’t believe the crime rate will decrease. These reductions of personal liberty will either have no effect or will increase the number of deaths related to gun violence.
After you visit the link above, ask yourself if they might benefit the housewife defending her children with a single gun in a crawl space, hiding from three intruders. Ask yourself whom these new bills would help or hurt. Would they really keep guns off the street? What a shame that so many of our legislators don’t take the time to consider all the options. Like Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), they say, “We must do something! No we don’t, we’re obligated instead to ask, ”What?” “Why?” and “How?” Thank you, Representative Holbert, for urging me to ponder the gun control issue with more granularity!
I’ll post Part II next week.
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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, Red Eye, Chris Holbert, Gun Control Debate, Gabby Giffords, Gabrielle Giffords, Second Amendment
Keywords: "Conservatism", "Conservative blog", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right", “Red Eye”, “Chris Holbert”, “Gun Control Debate”, “Gabby Giffords”, “Gabrielle Giffords”, “Second Amendment”
Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.
Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group
Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group (Check out their Facebook page here)
Or, see the Parker Writers Group Web page here
Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers (Check out their Facebook page here)
Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which hosted the Castle Rock Writers Conference on October 13, 2012. He is currently their Vice-Treasurer. The group, whose motto is Rock Solid Writing, is seeking their 501c3, and will convene to plan the 2013 conference soon.
Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 20 minutes at the Coffee4Conservatives meeting at the Firehouse on State Road 83, in Franktown, CO, on Oct. 21, 2012.
Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.
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