Gun manufacturers are scapegoats

By Armstrong Williams - 02/21/13 11:18 AM ET

Imagine a city where the citizens have come to feel so victimized by gun violence that they give up trying to stop criminals. Instead, they choose the most easily identifiable symbol of their problem — gun manufacturers — and start yelling at them.

To these frightened souls, it feels good to yell at gun manufacturers. It feels good to vent their fears. A mainstream media, both TV and in print, are now telling sad and compelling stories about how innocent citizens are gunned down across our nation, to convince we the people that the solution is more gun control legislation.

Other citizens empathize with their stories. They too have seen the destruction that these weapons can wreak and they're fed up with the gun problem. The media manipulate them into blaming gun manufacturers for funneling handguns into poor, urban areas where they often end up in the hands of criminals. According to the liberal school of thought, negligent marketing by gun manufacturers is turning minority communities into "war zones."

These citizens feel as if they're empowering themselves. In reality, they are merely embracing some sort of all-encompassing truth that places the onus of responsibility for gun violence solely on gun manufacturers, as opposed to the criminals who are actually pulling the triggers.

That is not to say gun violence is not a serious problem. Plainly, it is.

However, a bigger problem lies in an implicit message that gun manufacturers are responsible for gun violence. We are all victims, not victims of hardened criminals who stalk our streets but rather victims of gun manufacturers. Such a viewpoint places the emphasis on social retribution rather than individual responsibility. Get it? The gun manufacturers are being blamed for the harsh acts of criminals.

Williams is the author of the book Reawakening Virtues. Read more on RightSideWire.com and join the discussion live 4-5, 6-8 p.m. at www.livestream.com/armstrongwilliams or tune in 4-5 p.m. on S.C. WGCV, Sirius/XM Power 128, 6-7 p.m. and 4-5 a.m., Monday-Friday. Become a fan on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.