Role Call

 Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. Trayvon Martin. Stephon Clark. Botham Jean. Philando Castille. Alton Sterling. 

Shall I go on?

Akai Gurley. Oscar Grant. Martin Luther King Jr. 

These are black lives that were ended too soon. Ended by guns. Guns that were purchase, owned and used by Americans taking their Second Amendment Rights to the ugliest possible extreme. Suddenly, and in most of those cases without warning, all the rights of these men and women were taken along with their lives. Your right to free speech. Your right to walk down the street. Your right to sleep in your own bed. Your right to sit on the couch and eat ice cream. For most of these folks, their main offense was the color of their skin. 

And they were unarmed. 

I am going to suggest that the absence of firearms would mean that all those lives, and hundreds more black, white, red, blue would be spared. Exhibit A would be Kyle Rittenhouse and his horribly misguided intrusion into the world of "peacekeeping." Killing two and wounding another does not constitute peace. The use of overwhelming force, including putting a knee on someone's neck, is not serving or protecting anyone. We call them "peace officers" much in the same way the Colt forty-five caliber revolver was nicknamed "The Peacemaker." Calling it ironic would be giving far too much credit. 

I am going to suggest that having a gun doesn't make anyone's job easier. Guns have a tendency to kill whatever is in front of them. Bullets have no brains and certainly no conscience. Brains and a conscience should be the first tools used to deescalate a situation. Far too often the questions are asked after the shots are fired. These are generally on their way to becoming excuses or rationalization. 

Certainly, when rolling up to a situation that has any number or unknowns attached to it, there is fear involved. We cannot expect human beings to be rational and fearless at all times. But is it a good idea to hand a gun to someone who is feeling anxious or tense? Police forces in England have specially trained firearms units. Their officers do not, as a matter of course, carry guns. When a situation requires one, a gun expert is dispatched. It should also be noted that these officers don't have to worry about everyone they encounter having a gun, because it's not part of their national identity. 

Now that institutional racism is being dragged out into the light, why not go ahead and ask some tough questions about our need for guns. Everywhere. All the time. Until we fix all that racism, maybe we should put the guns away. For a while. Maybe we won't need them at all once we're done. 

Because currently that list is not getting any shorter.