Conservatives who are quite willing to toss privacy rights to the wayside in the name of patriotism fail to recognize the severe breach in national security created by the lack of gun regulations. Whether it’s the NSA or the TSA, these conservatives consistently prioritize security over privacy, even if it means abrogating the most fundamental human rights. Without any apparent irony, opposition to gun control is justified on the basis of preserving constitutional rights, yet many conservatives appear quite ready to sacrifice other fundamental rights under our constitution for the possibility of even marginally improving the security of Americans.

The data clearly show that America’s horrendous gun policy facilitates the flow of weapons to criminals, drug lords, and terrorists, who are far more effective at using these weapons to harm innocent civilians, than law-abiding citizens are at using them in self-defense.

Real security, then, the kind that can be operationalized and observed in homicide and crime statistics, is very clearly being exchanged for the illusion of security—for the naïve belief that walking into a Starbucks with a concealed carry weapon makes you ‘safer.’

