I make the mistake of talking about gun rights

I'm so incredibly conflicted on gun rights that I rarely weigh in. The amount of data floating around is intimidating, and each side of the argument can cite mountains of evidence to support their respective opinions. The debate as I see it is at a virtual stalemate, often ruled by hysteria from both sides. It gives me a headache. But I'm making an exception, briefly, to opine on the passing of Charlton Heston.

I have no doubt Charlton Heston was a good family man. I have no doubt he was a great actor, or an accomplished advocate for civil rights. I have no doubt that Heston genuinely believed in freedom and acceptance and the American spirit of democracy. I have no doubt of these things, yet I can't help but remember he was also the figurehead of an organization that rabidly supports the dissemination of deadly firearms and opposes efforts to address the problem of gun violence in this country. That's not the liberal talking; that's cold reality.

I'm not saying guns should be banned, as I'm of the opinion that the government should rarely be in the business of babysitting the populace. But how "well-regulated" is this supposed militia when thousands die each year from gun violence? I don't buy the notion that we are somehow safer when more people own guns, or that Johnny Psychopath stockpiling AR-15 assault rifles in some backwoods Idaho compound will be our savior when the shadow government decides it's time for fascism. I have no doubt he'd come out guns ablaze with an American flag wrapped around his furrowed brow -- and his cause would be just -- but he'd probably run into problems against the incredible fist of the government. The citizens of this country have a problem when it comes to revolting against totalitarianism, and it's called the U.S. Army. So no, I don't think our democracy depends on my right to own a handgun.

And lest we forget that the National Rifle Association held its annual rally in Denver just 10 days after two teenagers used several firearms to wreak havoc 10 miles away at Columbine High School -- 13 dead, 23 wounded in just under an hour. As the parents of the slaughtered children were still reeling from the massacre, the frothing freedom-fighters at the NRA -- Heston included -- thought it prudent to hold a rally to celebrate the greatness of guns.

Of course, some argue that the organization had no choice but to hold the rally, as it was planned long in advance. That may be, but Heston wasn't required to give a self-righteous speech at this "mandatory" gun rally that consisted of him mocking the mayor for requesting that the group stay away while the community healed its own wounds. I guess it didn't dawn on Heston that it might be in bad taste to hold a pro-gun rally near a city that had just experienced one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. His glaring error in judgment and lack of respect gives me pause as I consider fawning media accounts of his life. Yes, he did a lot of good, but like many good people he was not infallible.

The bottom line is that gun violence is a problem in this country. Obviously banning weapons isn't the answer, but we are so wrapped up over the hysteria of the debate that nobody seems willing to find a middle ground. Meanwhile, the death toll just keeps rising.