Legislation aimed at reducing gun violence is “a limitation on a God-given right of man that has existed throughout the history of civil society,” according to an article published in the leading conservative opinion journal National Review.

The author, David French, interprets the Christian Bible as granting everyone a right to self-defense. He suggests that this, if true, means that God’s will is that people have access to guns, as they are the means for self defense:

In fact, Jesus’s disciples carried swords, and Jesus even said in some contexts the unarmed should arm themselves…What does all this mean? Essentially that gun control represents not merely a limitation on a constitutional right but a limitation on a God-given right of man that has existed throughout the history of civil society. All rights — of course — are subject to some limits (the right of free speech is not unlimited, for example), and there is much room for debate on the extent of those limits, but state action against the right of self-defense is by default a violation of the natural rights of man, and the state’s political judgment about the limitations of that right should be viewed with extreme skepticism and must overcome a heavy burden of justification.

Even if French is right about the Christian view of self-defense (though Jesus did have choice words about “turning the other cheek“), it’s a logical fallacy to say this implies anything about restrictions on access to guns. Saying that people have a right to defend themselves if attacked isn’t the same thing as saying they should have a right to possess any conceivable means of defending themselves – presumably, French is fine with banning grenade launchers. The burden, instead, is on French to prove that universal background checks or limitations on assault weapon ownership somehow prevent people from defending themselves; to prove, in other words, that gun regulation is actually a restriction on the right of self-defense proper rather than a crime-prevention statute.
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There have already been five school shootings since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, including the shooting yesterday at the Texas Lone Star Community College campus. Lawmakers’ reactions have varied from passing gun violence prevention measures to adopting the National Rifle Association-led initiative to eliminate gun-free zones in schools.

Now, Maine Sen. David Burns (R) is proposing legislation to allow teachers and other school officials to carry concealed weapons, after taking a training course and psychological exam. Burns’ proposal follows other bills popping up around the country to turn teachers into gun carriers, and even one South Carolina bill that would create a gun class for high school students.

These initiatives will inevitably lead to more harm than safer schools, like an armed guard leaving his gun in a student bathroom. Turning teachers into armed citizens is also exactly the opposite of what most Americans want in the wake of Newtown, according to an AP-GfK poll showing 58 percent Americans want stricter anti-gun violence laws.

A gun was left in the bathroom of a Michigan public school by an armed guard paid to protect it, according to the school’s director. The Chatfield School, a charter school that teaches K-8 students, hired a retired police weapons instructor to provide armed protection after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. The result wasn’t exactly what they intended:

The security officer “made a breach in security protocol” and left an unloaded weapon in a restroom “for a few moments,” said Chatfield School Director Matt Young.

Young said the school has been in contact with local authorities about the matter and wouldn’t discuss any possible repercussion for the officer, calling it “a personnel matter.” Young also declined to name the security officer.

Experts on gun violence believe that armed guards are unlikely to deter or head off school shootings. Guards also have a track record of abusing students, often in a racially discriminatory fashion.

The Obama administration is set to harness the mood of the country in the aftermath of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary to enact wide-ranging efforts to reduce gun violence, according to the Washington Post.

Vice-President Joe Biden was named by President Obama in the days after the massacre to head a task force charged with finding ways the government could act to prevent further shootings. What seems to be emerging following discussions between the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and Education is a much broader set of ideas that would seek to clamp down on gun violence throughout the country.

Beyond reinstating the lapsed Assault Weapon Ban and enacting bans on high-capacity ammunition magazines, the White House is reported to be considering instituting universal background checks for gun buyers, boosting mental health checks, putting into place a national database to track the movement and sale of weapons, and locking in harsher penalties for carrying guns in the vicinity of schools.

Faced with a potentially harsh Congress and efforts by pro-gun lobbyists to hamper such moves, the task force is also considering ways to work around those roadblocks:

In addition to potential legislative proposals, Biden’s group has expanded its focus to include measures that would not need congressional approval and could be quickly implemented by executive action, according to interest-group leaders who have discussed options with Biden and key Cabinet secretaries. Possibilities include changes to federal mental-health programs and modernization of gun-tracking efforts by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

In doing so, the administration has made clear that it is willing to take on the National Rifle Association and other special interest groups to reduce the impact of firearms in America. Among the ways the White House is seeking to outflank their opponents, according to the Post story, is by working both by working in tandem with law enforcement officials and in convincing businesses like Walmart of the economic benefit to be had in reform.

Despite a growing coalition willing to take on gun violence, the rumored proposals are already receiving pushback from pro-gun members of both parties as memory of the devastation of Sandy Hook begins to fade. On ABC’s This Week, incoming Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) referred to the Washington Post’s reporting to say that the measures seemed “extreme” and would not pass. Likewise, incoming Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) indicated that he was of the belief that further gun safety legislation would be “unconstitutional.”