Guns don’t kill. People kill. A weapon is a tool that can cause horrific disasters and genuine tragedies alongside the fact that they have the power to save people from a terrible fate. It is all dependent on the person using it.
When a person does this for important and noble goals, primarily saving human life and eliminating murderous evil – he fulfills a great mitzvah and is performing a fundamentally basic moral action. Yet when he uses this weapon in order to hurt someone who he is prohibited to – he violates one of the most severe sins there is – murder “for man was made in the image of God”.
First and foremost, the person who carries a weapon is responsible for their actions. “A person is considered muad (prone to harm) in all circumstances” and the way of the Torah is to view each person as an entity with free will who assumes the burden of their actions. However, like in many other ethical fields, there is communal responsibility heaped upon the various administrations: the government, the legal sector, security forces, education system, welfare system, and other bodies.
From the Parsha of the beheaded calf (eglah arufa) we learn that when there is prohibited spilling of blood – the council elders must arrive at the scene so they can say “our hands have not spilt this blood”. The responsibility is placed on them from their existence as the authority and from the responsibilities demanded by Torah, Mussar, and humanity.
Actualizing the Responsibility
Actualizing the responsibility is expressed by providing an extensive examination to one who we give a weapon to and determining who we trust to use it only in the emergency situations it is meant to be used. Actualizing this responsibility is strengthening the support system for future victims, within their families and within society, so that the gun is not pointed at them. Actualizing the responsibility is drafting sharp and simple principles to abide by and verifying the person understands gun safety as a condition for holding a gun.
Actualizing the responsibility is creating an avenue for outreach and fighting against gun play, which too often leads to terrible disasters. Actualizing the responsibility is obligatory sessions at the gun range and security tests, so that the weapon will not accidentally harm someone who shouldn’t have been harmed.
Actualizing the responsibility is expressed by limiting weapon use and fighting the establishment of armed groups that act on their own right; actualizing the responsibility is by providing strict safety instructions on storage, preventing thefts or children playing with guns, etc. etc.
Improving Security
Shortcuts that arise from the emergency situation we are in are a very dangerous introduction for crimes and disasters. The vital need to arm civilians and emergency response teams is justification for distribution in a decentralized manner, but it is prohibited that this turn into a double-edged sword, and at the end of the day it will lead to a much greater curse than the benefit it has granted. Just like how it is to the government’s credit when distributed weapons are used properly – so too every disaster or crime due to negligence or government oversight should be to its detriment.
Alongside this, the responsibility is not removed from the shoulders of those holding the guns. If he is not proficient, he is obligated to privately invest in his training – at firing ranges, with security protocols, etc. – in order that negligence close to intention does not occur. If he isn’t familiar with the protocol for opening fire – he is responsible for learning it, so that he does not become a negligent murderer. If he knows that he loses his cool and acts violently – he should return the weapon, so that his mental storms do not lead to disaster. If there is no way to safely secure the weapons – he shouldn’t purchase them. Only in this manner will we prevent prohibited harm brought by guns, and this truly will bring about a rise in security and increasing the capability of dealing with someone who wishes to kill us.
