Boorish and Ignorant Is No Way To Go Through Life

Richard Epstein is smart about a lot of things, gun control being just one of them...

Then there’s the matter of gun control. No matter what the state of play is on the ground, gun control advocates around the country think the solution to mass shootings is tougher restrictions on gun access. President Obama leads the charge when he plumps “for common-sense gun safety laws, stronger background checks,” and insists that an effective countermeasure against terror is prohibiting people on no-fly lists from buying guns.

Worse still, many gun control advocates pillory anyone who disagrees with them with invective that it is hard to sort out. Perhaps the most visible attack came from U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, who right after the shooting directed his venom not toward the killers, but to the Republican Party: “Your ‘thoughts’ should be to take steps to stop this carnage. Your ‘prayers’ should be for forgiveness if you do nothing again.” But do what? According to a New York Times front-page editorial, we should not “abet would-be killers by creating gun markets for them.” And further: “It is past time to stop talking about halting the spread of firearms, and instead to reduce their number drastically.”

Dream on. Moral indignation is never in short supply during such crises, but what is needed is some assurance that the means selected will achieve the desired end. In this case, an inexcusable combination of boorishness and ignorance pushes matters in the wrong direction. The boorishness of people like Senator Murphy undermines the social solidarity needed to boost morale and allow a nation to meet the perils at hand. When people say their thoughts and prayers are with others, they are making a small but vital gesture that tells people who have lost loved ones that they are not alone. To mock that behavior is just a thinly veiled way to attack those who are opposed to new forms of gun control.