Why we should eliminate assault weapons and high ammunition clips immediately and other thoughts on gun control.

Ok, I have been thinking long and hard about gun control.  I know many people who are opposed to gun control, but usually we don’t talk about what is meant by “gun control” vs. regulation, and when we dig deeper we have a more complex conversation. As with most things, I believe there needs to be a balance. A balance between complete restriction and unregulated gun ownership (which is what we have in America today).  I hear several arguments against gun control of any sort and thought I would address them here. At the very minimum, I see no reason why we should not have a ban on assault weapons and high ammunition clips.  I know some of you may think I am not going far enough, but lets get the low hanging fruit.  The issue of our culture of violence and guns is much wider and will take longer.  Lets start with doing what we can immediately do to protect the citizens and the children of this country.  I welcome your feedback

The Hunting Argument –

Although it is not my preference to murder Bambi, (ok, I admit a bias here) I have no problem with Hunters owning guns.  I find that people who hunt tend to be knowledgeable about guns.  But one doesn’t need to have hand guns, assault weapons or high capacity ammunition to hunt, so this is a fallacious argument regarding gun regulation.  If all you are using your gun for is to hunt, then I do not see why regulation concerns you.

Just the bad guys will have guns and I have the right to protect myself argument

So first, the statement just the bad guys will have guns is not completely true, as law enforcement will have guns as well.  This argument revolves around hand guns.  The reality is, most hand gun deaths in America are at the hands of a family member, usually in the heat of passion or by accidental death (usually mistaken identity).  This is a fact.  The number of hand guns that are used to actually deter crimes by citizens is very small.  In the Gabrielle Gifford shooting spree:

Joe Zamudio who did have a gun at the event said "I came out of that store, I clicked the safety off, and I was ready,I had my hand on my gun. I had it in my jacket pocket And I came around the corner like this." Zamudio demonstrated how his shooting hand was wrapped around the weapon, poised to draw and fire. As he rounded the corner, he saw a man holding a gun. "And that's who I at first thought was the shooter," Zamudio recalled. "I told him to 'Drop it, drop it!' "But the man with the gun wasn't the shooter. He had wrested the gun away from the shooter. "Had you shot that guy, it would have been a big, fat mess," the interviewer pointed out. Zamudio agreed:

We have a wild west mentality, which I personally think as a culture we need to change, but again, this argument about protecting oneself from "bad guys" does not have anything to do with limiting assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips.

2^nd amendment and overthrowing the government argument

“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”

I am not a historian, but clearly this relates to creating a militia, which was needed as we really did not have a national armed services at the time it was created.  If there really is a concern about a tyrannical government, and the need to overthrow it, well lets just be honest, if things ever get to that point, we are totally screwed as a country.  I would suggest that people worried about a fascist government should get involved in government to make the country work for all people instead of assuming it is going to go down the toilet. My question would be, why do you not want to help other citizens instead of trying to defend yourselves against them.  And here is the reality, no matter what weapons you have, if the scenario of a fascist government does happen, whatever side our military is on will win this conflict, not some militia in the woods.   Spend your energy making the country equitable for all people. Instead of thinking of better ways to kill each other, let us use that energy to think of ways to lift people up and to heal people. I understand the intellectual argument of the second amendment, which I believe is based in fear not freedom, but if we are honest, we often give up certain freedoms to secure our safety.  The question is how many freedoms, which freedoms, and what are the corresponding benefits. I think banning assault weapons and high capacity ammunition is well worth the benefit. This is very utilitarian I know, but the scales have been tipped too far to the side of violence.  We do have deal with the underlying root causes, but we can first deal with some of the symptoms which are guns.   Which brings me to the final argument I often hear which is:

Guns don’t kill people, people kill people –

Yes, people can find ways to kill if they really want to (and they have).  But they would have to find those other ways to kill.  Having a gun is an easy way to kill.  Having assault weapons and high capacity ammunition is an easier way to kill a lot more people.  And guns are easy to obtain.  Other methods of mass killing are not so easy to obtain.   Many people may not figure out a way to kill others if it is not easy.  Or maybe they will not be able to kill as many people.  We have to start somewhere. There are many other things we can do to help people, but we can also take action to limit their options to cause harm.

Some final thoughts

We as a society have to choose what our values are. How many more children have to be sacrificed so that gun companies can continue to make profits, or to support the idea that every individual freedom taken to the extreme is superior to the common good.  Yes the Connecticut shooting was worse because they were young children, but any life senselessly lost, is not acceptable.  We should start talking and thinking about what we can do as a society to change our culture of violence, but we can start today by eliminating the completely unnecessary sale of  assault weapons and high ammunition clips.

The Company Men – a 7 out of 10 on the JayWo scale of movie ratings

The Company Men - A great cast in this 2010 movie including Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, and Kevin Costner among others.  It tells the story of a large company and upper executives who get laid off and how they deal with it.  I think it very importantly shows how people’s identity are very connected to their job, and their loss of that job leads the loss of their identity and a complete sense personal failure. One executive who is fired says “You know the worst part….My life ended and nobody noticed.”   It showed clearly how connected we become to material things.  Even at the end, one of the  protagonists says,  I like $5,000 hotel suites. (never been in one, but I imagine they are nice).  But ultimately he realizes that there is not enough compensation for the loss of the creation.  For the best part of the movie for me, was the concept of work being good for the soul, work being about creating something, and building something worthwhile.  Work, whether it be remodeling a house, or building a tanker ship, or building a company was given equal value.  This resonated for me as for most of my career that is how I felt.  I was always part of a management team building companies and now part of a great team building a Congregation.  The one major negative about the movie, is in the way most of the women are portrayed.  Not one executive was a woman, and the spouses of executives (with one exception – Ben Affleck;s spouse) were portrayed as materialistic, petty, and out of touch.  The one female character in the company that was of any substance was also sleeping with one of executives.  I think perpetuating these stereotypes just diminish the movie, and perhaps if it addressed a female executive, it could have been a deeper story.  But it did show how Business executives think, making decisions worried only about potential legalities and not ethics, and serving their own interests over the interests of the company, the employee and the greater community. Good issues to address.  Bottom line.  Worth seeing.

From the Heart of the Minister

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” – Charles Dickens (a Unitarian)

This summer has brought large contrasts in my consciousness.  I have been blessed to be able to go to Chicago with my wife Jan, to view various museums and the zoo.  I have gone to Arizona for the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly where among other things, I attended a vigil for undocumented workers who are being held in deplorable and I would argue illegal conditions.  As of this writing I am preparing to travel up to Wisconsin to visit with an old friend and to attend a Meditation Retreat. There was the shooting death by a father of his three children who were members of one of our Minnesota Congregations.   I have had time to read and ponder and plan for the upcoming year.  Then the news came out about the Colorado shooting at the movie theatre. These events forced me to travel on another journey, the farthest and most difficult destination of the summer.  This journey, filled with obstacles and wrong turns, was the journey inward.  The journey was a reminder for me to maintain compassion in the face horror.

The Buddha said the first of the four noble truths is,  “the recognition of suffering”.  These events are a jolt, a reminder to us that there is ongoing suffering in the world.  Often the amount of suffering within oneself and in the world can be overwhelming, and we all react differently.  Some look the other way. Some distract themselves. Some strike back in anger. Some decide to live in a nihilistic manner trying to cut themselves off completely from the interdependent web of life.  Some take action to find ways to alleviate their suffering and the suffering of others. 

There is something wrong in our culture that creates the conditions that allows such tragedies as these shootings to occur. We are all trying to deal with the question as to why? I am reminded of the story told by Rev. William Sloane Coffin at the funeral of the death of his son who died in a car accident.  One of his parishioners said “Sometimes I just cant understand the will of God” Sloane replied “I'll say you don't…God’s heart was the first to break”  All of our hearts are deeply saddened for the people who died and those who loved them.

Let these tragedies be a reminder as to why we come together. We build community.  We walk together with each other on this journey of life.  It is a journey that is filled with thought provoking conversations, eating, singing, dancing and much joy.  But it is also a journey for walking with each other in times of challenge and suffering. It is a journey of opening our hearts and being a presence in each other’s lives.  It is a journey to create a culture of love and compassion.  So let us take pause for a moment and recognize how our hearts break with the suffering we experience in our lives and in the world. Then let us remember that we are not alone, we have each other.  We can make a difference in each other’s lives. And we can make a difference in the lives of other people in our community who are suffering. 

I invite you to take that inward journey of self-awareness and then let that journey lead you to make that outward journey of making a difference in the lives of others. 

with a grateful heart

Rev. Jay Wolin

Ted – a 6 on the JayWo Scale of movie ratings

So it is very simple – if you like Family Guy, you will love Ted.  If you hate Family Guy, you will Hate Ted.  Think of Brian the dog and transfer that to the character Ted. Actually much of the voice cast for Family Guy is in the movie (Alex Borsetein, Mila Kunis, voice of Seth MacFarlane). Giovanni Ribisi is a really convincing creepy character.   I loved the “homage” to the Flash Gordon television show.  Oh and by the way, you will also need to like fart jokes.  I like Family Guy (and fart jokes in small doses)  and found it hilarious.  Not a deep movie, but if you need a hearty laugh (and this humor gives you a hearty laugh) you will love it.

Moonrise Kingdom – an 8 on the JayWo Scale of movie rating.

I really liked this movie.  It is a multi-layered, beautifully aesthetic movie that has deep metaphorical meaning.  I admit I tend to like these sort of movies that speak to a time of coming of age, where youth speak what they think, and act on their emotions despite their fear.  I am also sentimental about camp movies (although I was only a boy scout for 3 days) as I went to sleep away camp for about 5 years and it was a very formative experience for me.  This movie speaks to the sadness, loneliness and pain in the world along with the  wonder, adventure and hope in the world. It speaks to how we can be bold, how we have to take risks to achieve what we need, but also that we can help others find what they need, and in doing so help ourselves.  There is so much more to this well made and intelligent movie, but I will leave the rest for you to see and think about as I think about it some more.

Abe Lincoln - Vampire Hunter

Movie Review – “Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter” 4 out of 10 on the JayWo scale of movie ratings.  I don’t know, maybe I am just tired of vampire movies.  Ok, I am really tired of vampire movies. You may ask, Jay if you are really tired of Vampire movies, why do you go to them? That would be a good question.  We have a rule here since our tastes in movies are so diverse, that each time we go to a movie, we trade off on who gets to choose the movie.  Each of us has the right to veto the others choice, but as in politics, we have to be careful not to use the veto power too often lest we build up animosity around movie choices.  So I like Lincoln of course, and thought it a clever twist on mixing history with fantasy so I agreed not to veto the movie.  To give you an idea of the historical movie I like, would be the 2010 movie “Conspirator” about Mary Surratt’s role in the Lincoln assassination.  

What I really objected to about this movie was that it blames this country’s history regarding slavery and prejudice on vampires. I know you are thinking no one will really believe that.  But on a subconscious level, this country does not want to believe we could do such things.  We don’t want to take responsibility for the errors we have made in our past (let alone our present).  On some level, we can look at this and say it was not humans who caused us to do this.  Is our culture’s obsession with vampires a way of seeing the dark side of ourselves as something other worldly, caused by something outside of ourselves?   We need to look at ourselves in our entirety, with all our good and evil and work to reconcile those with the world.  That would be an interesting movie to me, although I am sure Jan would veto seeing it (and I would have to wait for the DVD or go alone once she returns to Florida).