An Open Letter to the NRA and it's sympathizers:

It's time we had a discussion about guns in this country. A real discussion, without using inflammatory rhetoric or name calling. The purpose of this open letter is to do just that.

I am what you might call a liberal. On most issues I am certainly left of center. I cannot speak for all liberals, of course. I do feel that most of my liberal friends would agree with most of what I have to say here. Perhaps they, and you, will use the comments section to continue this discussion.

First, let me tell you where I think you have some valid points. You're right, guns don't kill people, people kill people. You're also right that the Supreme Court ruled that there is a Constitutional right for individuals to own firearms. Guns have been a significant part of our culture for a very long time. They helped to tame the wild new continent that the Europeans found themselves on, for good or ill. Hunting was a large part of how the pioneers kept themselves fed as we expanded westward in Manifest Destiny. Here, recreational hunting took root in their wake among all classes of citizens, not just for the elite as it often was in the old world. And finally, you are right that in some ways, guns are not the (whole) problem; mental illness and crime is a part of it.

But there is one thing I would like you to admit as well. It is much easier to kill someone when a gun is readily at hand.

Now, I want to say this very clearly. I do not think we should take your guns away. Let me repeat that: I do not think we should take your guns away.

I don't think any thinking person really wants to round up all the guns and ban them. Right or left, there is a bit of a libertarian streak in most of us. We Americans don't like to be told what to do as a general rule. But some rules and laws are needed to keep us from descending into anarchy and chaos. Every society has rules governing behavior in some form or another. For the most part, we try to get along. But some of us don't. Some of us seek to harm others, physically, emotionally, financially. The rule of law is there to try to protect the majority of us from those of them.

And you admit that these people are out there. One of your claims is that the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun. So, ergo, there are bad guys with guns.

Yet it feels to me any attempt to politically address the issue of gun violence and death is met with derision and hostility. You, the NRA and its sympathizers, have a lot of political pull in this nation, and it seems that you fight tooth and nail to limit or even eliminate the tools we can use to curb these deaths.

No matter what the actual numbers are, I think we can all admit that any killing is too much killing. And if you can admit that it is much easier to kill with a gun than without a gun, we can have a place to start thinking about this problem.

Now, I'm going to admit something to you. It may be something you already suspect, but you will need to guess no more. I am not so much afraid of guns. It's you, the “gun nut”, that I'm afraid of. Not all gun owners for sure, but too many (one would be too many) are very careless and even reckless about firearms. Some gun owners are very conscientious with their responsibilities. They keep their guns locked up, unloaded, and separate from their ammunition. They have taken the time to know their weapons, and to educate their families on safety. When they take their guns out for target practice or hunting, they are aware of the awesome power they possess, and make sure nothing they don't want to shoot is in their line of fire. I am not afraid of these people.

What scares me are the people that open carry just to make a point. What scares me are people that are emotional, hot headed, or ill tempered that carry open or otherwise. What scares me are people so paranoid and eager to “protect” their domain that they sleep with a loaded gun under their pillow. What scares me are the people that seem to love guns more than human life. Any human life.

Here's where I would like the discussion to begin. A) I would like to see guns in the hands of responsible owners, and I would like gun owners to be responsible. I think you feel the same way. B) I would like it to be more difficult for un-responsible people to possess guns. I also think you feel the same way.

The problem as I see it, though, is that you use your political clout to block any attempt at all to address this. I don't know why. I have heard many reasons given, many of them cynical. The why is unimportant to me. All I ask is that you at least enter the discussion in good faith. Negotiate.

I will offer some ideas to get started.

First of all, if we can all agree what we don't want the “bad guys” to have guns (whoever we determine them to be, criminals, the insane, etc) we need to have the tools to separate the good from the bad. Perhaps it is background checks, perhaps some other way. Maybe licensing and registration. Maybe not. Whatever we may come up with, I think we can both agree it needs to be done and actually work. No loopholes, no exceptions.

Secondly, I think we can agree that it is important to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, drug dealers, and other unsavory characters. This can be done, at least a lot better than it is being done today. Please let us find some tools that we can agree on for using to this end. All guns are (so far) made by gun manufacturers. They have serial numbers. They are traceable. They have to enter the black market one way or another. I'm sure some get stolen, but I'm also sure that many are bought and resold by people for profit. Let's figure out a way to severely curtail this. It may require some sort of registration of who owns what gun, like the way that car ownership is registered. I know this is one of your touchy subjects, but again, I don't want to take away your guns. Really. Ever. If you never use it to murder, or threaten murder, or are careless enough to cause an accidental killing, then have all the guns you want. Truly.

Lastly, I think we can all agree that anybody that wants to own a gun should be a responsible owner. Please let us work together to find a way to encourage this. I believe the NRA used to be much better at spreading and cultivating such a culture, and is a great organization to renew such. There are two ways I can think of that might help with this. I have no doubt you would think them as “lefty” solutions. Fine by me if you do, but I would encourage you to at least consider them and to offer some ideas of your own. One way to encourage responsible ownership would be to require passing a knowledge and practical test to become eligible for gun ownership. The other thought I have is have the owner of a firearm bear some of the responsibility if his or her gun is used in a crime or accidental shooting.

No, guns don't kill people, but people with guns too easily kill people. A bar fight is just a bar fight, but when in the moment of anger a gun can be drawn someone ends up dead instead of just beaten. We humans are emotional, irrational and impulsive beings. Some of us are downright crazy. I think any discussion about guns needs to keep that reality in mind.

Again, I don't want to take away the guns from the general population of the United States of America. But, I don't think it is okay that thousands of people die each year here from gunshot wounds that don't have to. I believe you feel the same way. Please, lets sit down and try to work together to figure this out.

Thanks for listening.