Random Thought: Guns & Violence

Observed Facts on the ground:  Pro-gun vs anti-gun appear to have irreconcilable difference. It is a zero sum game of how many guns there are and of what type. However, from a different perspective, outside the immediate issue of gun control, there is a common underlying agreement. That is...

It is practically and morally imperative for our society to protect itself from harm from bad actors.

On this we can all agree. Second Amendment proponentes want to protect themselves and those they love from tyranny, potentially fighting force with force.  A laudable goal. Those who want to restrict gun access want to reduce thebr of people killed by them. Also a laudable goal. Is there a reconciliation of these perspectives from a higher perspective?

I believe there is and it may be applicable to many of our intractable social issues. I have come to believe that a fundamental social axium is at the core of these difficulties. The axiom is...

As a society it is necessary to enforce law, order and national sovereignty by threat of death (or actual death) to be successful. (This is a fundamental fallacy)

Life is sacred and an inalienable right of each human. There is no circumstance where it is permissible to kill another human. It sometimes becomes a practical necessity, as in personal defensive action. However, it is always a bad choice and should never be written into the law or public policy.  Let's call it..

Right to Life (Just to be controversial)

There is no circumstance where one person has a right to kill another. The only exception would be to end suffering. Examples:

Killing an unwanted child.  (I acknowledge a big argument on the definition of child)
Killing a perceived dangerous or unlawfully acting person, typically by police.
Killing a convicted convict for abhorrent behavior.
Killing someone in another country or jurisdiction for any reason.

So to put it another way, I believe in right to life, every life.

Back to the gun debate. I believe we should honor the second amendment and continue to permit gun ownership for self defense. That includes defense from armed authorities.

If  we desire to reduce gun violence, we need to reduce all violence. On that we should be able to agree. The devil is in the details.