Guns and the Right to Bear Arms – Beyond Victims and Villains

A Conversation with Progressive Gun-Owner Veronica Monet

Aired April 10, 2018

“Every child should learn the appropriate use of arms — for hugging.”– Swami Beyondananda

 

 

The problem with “hot button” issues like gun control / 2nd Amendment rights is that they are “hot” — lots of heat, not nearly enough light. From the meta-view, they keep the culture wars alive, and this war prevents “we the people” from uniting around the larger issues of governance, what my friend and associate Joseph McCormick calls “who’s in charge of who’s in charge”.

So it may be that the Parkland students’ movement, while seeking to address the problem at a higher level, could easily be diverted into positionality that avoids the real problem. This week’s guest, self-described progressive and gun-owner Veronica Monet takes us deeper into the conversation: Why IS the school-shooting problem so indigenous to the USA? How do we protect the rights of individual citizens, and minimize harm to everyone else? Which weapons should be legal and which should not? How do we prevent these tragedies, and how much of that has to do with gun control legislation?

You may remember Veronica from our previous interview a few months ago on the #METOO movement, citing her own experience as a rape survivor, sex therapist and counselor. In this interview, she contrasts her revulsion at her father’s obsession with guns with her own experience — having them as handy protectors as she lived in the woods alone for eight years.

If you’re ready for common sense and uncommon wisdom on a complex and divisive issue, tune in this Tuesday, April 10th at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET.