It Ain't the Guns, Brother

We don’t need clichés and campaign slogans. We need to know why. Why now?

It’s hard to believe it in 2022, but until the 1968 Gun Control Act, young boys such as myself could order firearms from the Sears catalog. Handguns, large caliber rifles, and shotguns. No restrictions at all based on age in many states. No background checks! No so-called “red-flag” laws. Nothing! If you wanted a firearm, you could easily and legally obtain one.

The problem with this legislation (and all subsequent laws designed to erode the Second Amendment), is that they have all failed. By anyone’s estimation, we aren’t any safer from gun violence in 2022 than we were before the Gun Control Act. It is significantly more difficult to purchase a gun now than it has ever been, yet we continue to see horrific gun violence play out on the cable news shows.

So, I have a very penetrating question to ask America, and that is, “Why now? Why, after all the restrictions we’ve seen legislated to end gun violence in our country, is the problem getting worse instead of better?” According to what I see and what they say, it is an epidemic. We are far worse off than we were in 1968.

I ask that question because unlike the hysterical politicians and the talking heads on the left-wing news shows, I really do want a solution. In my humble opinion, anyone who actually hates the new violent normal in America is going to honestly evaluate the evidence and propose solutions that actually address the problem. If we are going to fix it, we don’t need clichés and campaign slogans. We need to know why. Why now? Once we figure that out, we can move on to the what-we-can-do-about-it phase. But not until we actually know what’s wrong.

Unfortunately, clichés and slogans are all we’re getting at this point. More gun laws! Invest in mental health! Make schools safer! Ban the gun lobby!

As good as some of this stuff plays on the news, none of it really answers my question: Why now? After over 250 years of America’s “infatuation” with firearms, why was 2020 the most violent year on record with over 43,000 gun-related deaths? There are more restrictions on gun purchases, there’s more access to mental health treatment, and many schools have full-time armed officers on campus, yet more people are dying in firearm-related incidents.

Why now?

Mo Brooks, a candidate for the open senate seat in Alabama, recently took it on the chin from his opponent in the Republican primary run-off election when he blamed the increase in senseless mass killings on the breakdown in family. He argued that it’s just harder for a single parent to raise up kids to possess a moral compass. Brooks’ point was that parenting is a two-person job. And, according to his argument, without a moral compass, it’s impossible for kids to navigate a life that’s complex and confusing.

While I think Brooks makes a good point, he’s still only focused on one of the symptoms of the real problem. Single parenthood and gun violence are alike in this way. They aren’t the issue — they’re only symptomatic of what really ails us.

Brooks’ opponent took the opportunity to accuse him of demonizing single moms. Of course, that wasn’t what he did. But that’s beside the point. Brooks is on the right track, but he made one mistake. He stopped short of identifying the real problem, and until he does, he can’t really offer up a real solution. If I were to speak with Mo, I would ask him where America can find its moral compass. Do we just pull something like that out of thin air? Do we make it up as we go along?

Well, we’ve been pulling it out of thin air for a long time, and here we are, far worse off than we were when guns were sold to anyone who could plunk down the cash — no questions asked.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a culture rooted firmly in the belief that mankind was created by a holy, righteous, and benevolent God is a culture that will value human life. People who understand that they bear the image of God and so do their neighbors won’t be found going around blowing off their neighbors’ heads. People like that respect and love their fellow humans because they know that God loves and respects them.

However, after generations of godless propaganda that’s convinced our kids that they are the product of blind and impersonal chance, they’re coming to the only logical conclusion they can come to — there is no purpose to life, not mine nor my fellow man’s. If God didn’t create us but we just slithered up out of a saltwater swamp and evolved into what we are, our kids will finally get the message: I don’t matter and neither do you! I would say that they are hearing the message loud and clear.

I understand that this in itself isn’t proof that God is real, but it does explain why now. A worldview that leaves God out of it will end up in hopeless despair. There is no reason I am here; therefore, nothing has any real meaning to it at all, not even my own life.

On the other hand, a culture that believes that God is real and that all of mankind bears his image will be a culture that values life. It will be a culture that respects everyone in that culture. A worldview like that is the only one that offers any real hope of changing culture for the better because it tells our kids that they are here on purpose and with purpose. They will know that their lives really do matter and so do the lives of everyone else.

I do pray that God will awaken a spirit of revival in America and that millions will turn to him. I pray that the masses will, not just “go to church” but relentlessly pursue the God who made them. I am aware, however, that there is a mighty, organized, committed throng of godless people who will ridicule me for pointing people back to their Creator, but I am undaunted. I will not be stopped or silenced. In fact, the more opposition I get, the louder I will plead with my fellow man to turn from his evil ways and run after God.

But to my fellow believers, I encourage you to never forget one thing: What we choose to believe and live for will always have consequences. Choosing God will give us clarity of mind and empower us to see the brokenness of culture for what it is — a consequence of walking away from God. Choosing to walk in the footsteps of those who do not know God, however, will lead us to where we are now, only worse.

Why now? After all the attempts that lawmakers have made to legislate gun violence out of society, we need look no further. When God is made to be the bad guy, unworthy of our praise and worship, when we think that are smarter than he is and can figure stuff out on our own … well, this is what happens.

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. (Romans 1:28-31)

It ain’t the guns, brother. It’s us! That’s why now. We fired God and threw him off his throne. What did we think would happen?