It seems that we have become a nation of cowards. Guns promote cowardice. It takes a great deal of courage to confront someone with whom we disagree, and to try to resolve the differences through negotiation and compromise. It takes courage to not get things totally our way, to allow our enemy to claim victory, also. In order to achieve such a compromise, we must forgo our own selfish and self-centered interests for the common good. This act requires courage, for such a compromise opens one up to ridicule from both sides.

This is why Abraham Lincoln was courageous: he sought out a solution that would allow the seceding states to save face while still achieving his overall objective (the preservation of the union). However, neither side was completely happy with his solution, and, because of selfishness and cowardice, this country hid behind its guns, resulting in four years of a bloody civil war.

We have not learned from the past. Every time we have hidden behind our guns, needless deaths have resulted. And, even though we consider ourselves to be civilized, we are still hiding. We are still killing.

Take, for example, the recent killing on a school bus in Pulaski County. The murderer was the ultimate coward; instead of confronting his problem, he hid behind the barrel of a gun. The victim never had a chance for compromise, for bullets cannot compromise. After all, they are only metal projectiles. Pulling a trigger is irrevocable; words are not. Apologies and remorse do not do any good when one party is dead.

Guns provide a quick and permanent solution to a problem. Just one quick squeeze of the trigger, and BAM, problem gone. No emotional baggage to carry. Painless and easy.

A few years ago, a friend of my sister and her boyfriend were shot to death while parked in a car in front of her house. She was only 18. Her life ended before it had even started. She didn’t have the chance to graduate from high school, to get married, to be a mother. All because of some coward with a gun. No amount of remorse or guilt will ever bring her back. And the world lost a very fine person.

I had the privilege of dining with some police officers from the Chicago area at a conference I attended. They told some very disturbing tales about shootings at schools, on the streets, and the general lack of safety from shooters that exists today. They were very strong advocates of gun control, and were alarmed when I told them that concealed weapons are legal in Arkansas. Their concern is valid: not only do you give the right to law-abiding citizens, you also give it to criminals, too. In the amount of time it takes for an officer to ask to see a concealed weapon permit, a criminal can draw and fire, giving the officer no chance to defend himself. Without legal concealed weapons, the odds are in the officers favor, as the officer, upon seeing the weapon, can fire first without having to be concerned about whether or not the weapon is legal.

Talking to these officers made me seriously reevaluate my position on gun control. Another incident, however, completed my conversion from libertarianism to liberalism with respect to gun control. Several days ago, my wife heard two men arguing n the street in front of our house. One was threatening to kill the other. She did, not, however, get a description of the man, because she was afraid that he was going to start shooting and didn’t want to be shot at. Her fears are legitimate; every day in this country, innocent people are shot for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Because of the fear of being shot, we are becoming prisoners in our own home; we are under siege. The NRA will tell you that it has nothing to do with guns; they are flat out wrong. Guns have made it too easy to kill. I have a chance to defend myself against someone wielding a knife or a baseball bat; I have no chance against a gun. We are teaching our children that it is okay to be a coward; just hide behind the barrel of a gun. Got a problem, just pull the trigger. Problem solved. No need for discussion.

What, then, shall we, as citizens, do about the proliferation of guns in our country, in our neighborhoods, our school, and on our streets?

Send our elected officials a message on November 5th. Vote against each and every candidate who supports the NRA and does not support gun control. It just so happens that most of these candidates are Republican. And the Republicans are the "family values" party. Some family values. I think I’ll pass.

Guns are destroying the family, both the individual family and the family of man. Guns have become the instrument of death of choice. After all, with guns there’s no mess (guillotines were rather messy, after all), little physical exertion (unless, of course, you can call pulling a trigger "physical exertion"), and can be used on the run and at a distance.

Is this the end of civilization as we know it? CIVIL is a key component of civilization; with handguns, we have lost the civil. We must restore it before it is too late. Not only for our sake, but for the sake of our children and our grandchildren.