Ask Auntie Pinko
November 1, 2001

Dear Auntie Pinko,

I'm a conservative though I'm very sympathetic to libertarians. I don't understand why American liberals are opposed to gun rights. One would think that conservatives, who tend to entrust various individual freedoms to government discretion, would be against gun rights and liberals for gun rights. Is it just that guns are noisy and scary, or is there something deeper?

Ben,
Philadelphia, PA

Dear Ben,

Auntie Pinko knows conservatives who support regulation of gun ownership, and liberals who oppose such regulation. I don't think the issue is quite that simple. At one end of the spectrum we have Americans who interpret the Second Amendment as giving any private citizen the right to stockpile major ordnance in complete privacy if they want to. At the other end we have Americans who interpret the Second Amendment as only giving states the power to arm their National Guard or other state-organized militia units, and no one else should have any kind of gun at all, for any purpose. The overwhelmingly vast majority of Americans seem to fall somewhere in between these positions.

And regardless of the claims to infallibility by various schools of legal scholarship, America always has, and always will, adapt its interpretation of our Constitution to conform to the sensibilities of America's vast "middle majority." As an example, for many years the words "equal protection" were interpreted to mean that it was perfectly all right for states to maintain two sets of school systems to serve people of different skin colors. A majority of Americans either approved of this position, or did not care sufficiently about the issue to want that interpretation changed.

When it became clear to the majority of Americans that "separate but equal" had many evil consequences for our society, the interpretation of "equal protection" changed. And as long as any vestige of democratic process remains to us, our interpretation of the Constitution will continue to reflect whatever middle ground the majority occupies.

Now, Auntie Pinko has watched the efforts of those at both ends of the gun regulation spectrum jockey for position in the majority opinion for many years. And it's my considered opinion that we've officially reached an impasse. Most people's views on this issue aren't going to change, no matter how many "facts" we throw at each other, no matter how many experts and advocates and lobbyists and associations enter the fray.

In one way, it's been real entertaining to watch the silliness that this impasse has produced. We now have thousands of laws on the books at every level of government and still no one's happy. But in another way, it's been real sad-because Americans who should be working together to find solutions that will meet some of everyone's concerns have pretty much turned their backs on the whole process. They've poured a lot of spite and venom and rancor into the political process, and made it even harder for our government to serve the people's needs.

In short, Ben, Auntie Pinko thinks that making this issue an "either/or" matter is doing a disservice to both sides. Trying to frame it as "for us or against us," from either end of the spectrum, only continues to keep us at each other's throats and prevents us from solving some of the very real dilemmas posed by the Second Amendment. And portraying it as a "liberal vs. conservative" issue is inaccurate, and a cynical attempt to manipulate the American people.

I hope you're still glad you asked Auntie Pinko!

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