Colman McCarthy Quotes
Self-defense through gunslinging is a delusion .... Those who carry guns for self-protection keep widening the circle of violence.
Colman McCarthy, Columnist, "The Perils of Packing a Gun," The Washington Post, June 6, 1992
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Although written by a science fiction writer, this is one of the best quotations arguing for widespread gun ownership.
The gun control debate has been so polarizing over the years, that the extremists on each side actually consider the other side as doing great damage to the society if not causing death of innocent people.
Thirty young black men and women carrying pistols, revolvers, and shotguns, appeared at the grand entrance of the California Capitol Building. The capital police stopped them and asked what they were going to do with their guns. Bobby Seal replied by asking the police officer what he was going to do with his gun. Seale and the Black Panthers then quoted the Second Amendment to the Constitution and insisted that they had a right to carry guns. Seale led his overtly armed followers inside while police and legislators looked on in horror. They were breaking no law. See the linked quote for Seale’s statement at Sacramento.
There were very few people who believed that a pistol would have no defensive value then and there are very few today. The advocates of gun control grant its defensive value, but argue that the rise of using a gun is greater than the benefit of the use. Add to that the deaths from suicides and gun accidents which kill more Americans than those who are shot and killed intentionally.
In Colombia, as in the U. S., there are many more deaths and injuries to family members caused by guns in homes, then there are deaths or injuries caused by intruders, robbers or other bad actors. However, for many Americans—especially men—they would prefer the risk of a gun in the home, than the indignity of being unable to defend their families and themselves. In essence, this is the crux of the gun control debate. Both sides are right and just reflect different values.
Many gun rights advocates are surprised to learn that the communities of the old West had gun control. And it was far stricter than most cities have had in modern times.
Colman McCarthy, an American journalist, teacher, lecturer, pacifist, progressive, an anarchist, and long-time peace activist, directs the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington, D.C. From 1969 to 1997, he wrote columns for The Washington Post. His topics ranged from politics, religion, health, and sports to education, poverty, and peacemaking. Washingtonian magazine called him "the liberal conscience of The Washington Post." Smithsonian magazine said he is "a man of profound spiritual awareness." He has written for The New Yorker, The Nation, The Progressive, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Reader's Digest. Since 1999, he has written biweekly columns for National Catholic Reporter.
