Who is protected by handguns?

For the first time in American history, the legitimacy of handgun, or any gun, restriction was brought to a United States Supreme Court this year. The verdict was passed with at 5 to 4 majority overturning a 70 year old decision that the Second Amendment to the Constitution is granting the right to operate militias instead of a personal right to bear arms. The decision hinged on the the ability to own and carry a handgun for the right to protect one's self, and the opportunity to hunt. So I find it necessary to ask, what are we hunting with a handgun --- besides people? This brings up the question, are handguns necessary for modern American society?


In the year 2008, what would Joe Citizen use a handgun to do? Could the primary purpose be self/family defense? I guess, but wouldn't your person and family be safer with a shotgun? Not to mention that a novice shooter would be much more accurate with a shotgun than pistol. Could the reason be the that Joe just doesn't feel that the government's police forces are an adequate crime stopping force and needs to enlist his own version of handheld justice? Who knows? I will suggest that it is none of the above.

The reason people Joe wants to retain the clasp of his handgun is not for safety or protection of his family, it is for the rush and feeling of power. The power of god that only a man with a gun can possess. What more does Joe Citizen in the U.S. love more than power. That is why we shout "drill baby drill" from the gallows at the Republican National Convention, even though drilling won't help domestic gas prices. Americans love power, or at least the appearance thereof, that is why our culture has embraced the Sopranos, Scarface, rap music, and the Iraq War (at first).

Guns do not protect people from anything besides safety. Guns by definition perpetuate violence. Adding guns to any situation makes that situation more lethal. So with that being the case, why does a 21st century United States Supreme Court support 18th century politics? That question I cannot answer, but if we don't embrace our fellow citizens of the world and stop resorting to violence as the only option, the American analogy as the modern-day comparison to Rome could hold more truth than we have ever imagined.