Dear Conservatives, I Don’t Want to Take Away Your Guns

Dear conservatives,

I’m a liberal, and I’m not interested in a debate about the Second Amendment. I already know how it plays out.

You’ll say it’s your right enshrined by the Constitution, and I’ll say a “well-regulated militia” was intended to fend off a tyrannical government armed with muskets, not drones with long-range missile capabilities.

You’ll say gun control is a “slippery slope,” and I’ll cite Australia as a gun control case study.

You’ll say an AR-15 is not an assault rifle, and I’ll tell you that’s a red herring.

You’ll say guns don’t kill people, and I’ll point out how hard it would be to kill 20 people in a row with a knife.

You’ll say more people die from automobile accidents, and I’ll tell you guns are now the leading cause of death for U.S. children.

You’ll call me a communist. I’ll call you an NRA stooge.

But I don’t want to rehash the same, tired arguments. I don’t want to trade insults. Neither of us wins. Neither of us benefits. And our country continues to suffer.

I could try to show you how heartbroken I am, how desperate I am to make things better, but I know you’ll see it as cynical virtue signaling, just as I’ll see your…