Gun Control and Marriage: Not Solutions

I have been listening to the news on the way to and from work for the past couple of days.

Already I am super bored and disinterested with it.  Really the only thing anyone is talking about is gun control.  They aren't even saying anything for or against it.  They just say that it is being talked about.

I've never really been passionate about the topic because I just don't want to get involved with it, but I thought I would share a few thoughts on the topic.

I believe that gun control isn't the answer.  Maybe in reality we do need gun control and maybe not, but that isn't the issue here and so it cannot be the answer. 

Our society has many problems and they present themselves in horrible, terrifying ways.  Recently, there have been mass shootings - manifestations of other problems.

In the face of crisis and confusion, we look at the problem superficially because it is easier to understand, and it is easier to take comfort in a superficial solution.

But without understanding and embracing the underlying issues, gun control is bound for failure.  It seems like a logical solution to some, but it is a symptom.

To compare, consider marriage.  Why do so many marriages fail?  Many people approach marriage looking for something it represents for them. 

But whatever you are looking for in a marriage, you have to bring with you.  If you desire intimacy and think that you will automatically experience deep intimacy once you are married without having ever worked toward healthy intimacy with others, you will be disappointed.  If you think that your loneliness will magically disappear after you find the one, your marriage is already failing.  Once you discover that your spouse cannot completely take away your loneliness you will become dissatisfied.  If your vision of marriage includes a peaceful stability, you had better become a stable person because marriage is not the solution to any of your insecurities or failings.  Marriage is about gift, and you have to be able to give the very thing that you want to gain from marriage.

This is not to discount Grace.  Because marriage is a Sacrament there is Grace involved which does strengthen and build up our areas of weakness.  But Grace builds on nature, and generally doesn't bestow something that we aren't at least working towards.  The man who struggles with purity is not generally going to become perfectly chaste after marriage, Grace or not.  It probably has happened before, but generally is a great word because generally it doesn't happen.

So the point is, maybe there should be a lot more gun control in this country.  I don't think so personally, but on an objective level, there are some very good reasons and arguments for it.  However, those who think that gun control is going to end the tragic shootings in our country are mistaken.  Gun control might help the safety in this country grow, but is isn't going to magically bestow national security.