Like many of you on the left and the right, I am a reasonable person, and I don’t want to see more innocent children or concert goers slaughtered mercilessly by sick twisted psychopaths. If we agree we share this common goal, of reducing violence in our society, then let the two sides of this national gun debate talk as adult to identify the problem and implement a solution. As a teacher, a sociologist, a scientist, and a political moderate, let me help to bridge this cultural divide.

To begin a respectful discourse on “Common Sense Gun Laws”, we need some rules:

Rule #1 – Logic

“Common sense” is uncommon, because it varies subject to your locale and population. Instead, let’s talk about logic. Logic means looking at the facts and data, cause and effect. We must have discipline to set aside emotion and look objectively at long term effects in historical context. This is what common sense really means.

Rule #2 – Fairness

Any policy we implement has to be fair. We achieve this by putting ourselves in the shoes of others, to see if what we propose is universally applicable. In other words, we must check our ethnocentricity and build policy that works for people who are dissimilar to us, not just to serve ourselves.

Rule #3 – Be Realistic

We must be realistic. The world does not care what you or I think it ought to be. You cannot will fantasy into reality without regard for the multitude of factors that shape the world into what it is now. Hence we have to work within the parameters that are already in place, knowing that no solution will be ideal.

No blaming, no name calling. We discuss as adults. Keep an eye on the blog and on Facebook this week as I share my thoughts on what these common sense gun laws should be.