06/02/2026
Unpopular Opinion:
There is little that government can constitutionally do to prevent tragedy aside from keeping convicted persons in jail/prison or other forms of detention so they cannot re-offend. There is even less government can constitutionally do to prevent first time offenses.
Law enforcement is tasked with deterring (to an extent) crime and stopping criminal offenses while they’re in progress. Law enforcement is also tasked with catching those accused of committing crimes so they can face the justice system.
The justice system is tasked with punishing those who commit crimes and, where possible, rehabilitation.
Neither of these systems can prevent crime so effectively that tragedy does not occur. So we’re faced this a choice: enjoy our constitutional liberties while trying to reduce tragedy, or forfeiting our constitutional liberties in favor of greater security. The latter, of course, produces other negative externalities… like wrongful convictions, fear of controversial speech, and the diminished ability to defend oneself when government inevitably fails.
To be sure, this is on a gradient. We can move along the axes of freedom and security. But they are largely intertwined. And when I speak about liberty, I’m not just speaking about the right to bear arms. It’s all rights, including those guaranteed by the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth amendments… among others.
Sometimes, there are no answers or solutions. Just tragedy. I’m not saying now is one of those times. But I am saying that creating policy in the wake of tragedy often creates bad policy, and we need to be careful.
