3-D Printers Don't Kill People, People Kill People

I've been writing about guns a lot lately and frankly I'm sick of it.  I hate guns.  I'm a freaking pacifist for Dude's sake!  You can read those posts here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.  Then this article popped onto my screen this morning and now I just have to say one more thing.

This.  This is what I've been saying.

image source: Flickr

Thank you Salon for publishing something difficult for us Americans to digest with our early morning coffee and prepackaged cereal bars:

Perhaps not today, but almost certainly tomorrow, the code to 3-D print your own gun will be as shareable as MP3s. Outmoded legal approaches to restricting gun ownership may not apply.

Criminals who want to kill people can find ways to make their own weapons.  Come on.  I hardly ever watch TV or go to crime dramas at the movies and even I know how easy it is for a prisoner to get shivved by a fellow inmate.  We can ban all the assault riffles we want hoping it will prevent senseless killings, but murderers don't follow the law.  The fact is, people who love to kill people are part of the DIY movement too.  It's not an exclusive club.  Maker Murderers, if you will.  Anyone with a will can find a way to make their own weapons no matter how hard we try to ban them.  Nowadays all you need is a 3-D printer.

Stopping senseless killing is a wonderful goal.  And it's such an important goal, I wish more people would work hard to think of myriad ways we can attain it without solely relying on the law to protect us from outlaws.

We need to address the issue holistically.  Get to the root of the problem.  What makes people want to kill?  The Bible tells us it's forbidden to murder.  Religious leaders scare us into believing we'll burn in hell for all of eternity if we murder another.  Why doesn't that prevent people from killing each other?  Laws, secular and religious, are great for some people, but they don't work on everyone.  We need to figure out what triggers humanity's urge to kill so we can figure out ways to combat it.

Might as well shoot myself in the head.  Who's got time for hard thinking?  I've got my daughter to raise and that takes up most of my time.  Trying to raise her as peaceably as possible.  To think critically whether I'm around or not.  To remain nonviolent even when provoked by people she disagrees with.  To pay attention to her own body and treat herself to good health.  To understand that mental illness runs in our family and there's no shame in asking for help.  To recognize within herself emotions such as anger and jealousy but remember they are moods that lift and simmer down with deep breaths and introspective moments and eventually everything will be fine.  It's hard to be a mother.  To protect her and guide her and send her off into this big scary world.  I have so many things to teach my daughter.  So much to learn myself so I can be a proper model for my child.  I don't have time to save the world.  I've got a child to raise.

PeaceMaker Mama, if you will.