Kurt Vonnegut was an accomplished American author who lived during a transformational time in American history which included several major wars in which the U.S. was involved, such as World War II (in which he fought), the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Vonnegut focused on absurdism in many of his writings, including novels, short stories, and plays. Vonnegut viewed life and death as somewhat meaningless, as is common with absurdists. ‘So it goes’ is often used by characters in his breakthrough book, Slaughterhouse-Five, when death occurs (Vonnegut). These characters are extraterrestrial beings called Tralfamadorians that experience all time at once, so when they observe death, it doesn’t faze them quite as it does humans (Vonnegut 32). Vonnegut uses these characters and other science fiction elements to portray his ideas about mortality through storytelling. While his view of death was nonchalant, he despised firearms ownership. Vonnegut has described some NRA commercials from the 1980s and 1990s as though “[they] were praising the germs of some loathsome disease, since guns in civilian hands, whether accidental or on purpose, kill so many of us day after day,” (Augello). So, while Vonnegut had a rather bleak outlook on existence, if he were still alive he would still believe that gun violence is a social epidemic that requires our attention. He would agree that gun control and gun ownership in America need reform.

Progressives have historically supported gun control. The push for gun control in America started in the late 1950s to early 1960s and gained massive support when after “the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968,” (HISTORY OF FEDERAL FIREARMS LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES).  During this time in history, Vonnegut was in his late thirties and had already been through a world war and this Act was passed at the height of the Vietnam War. Possibly influenced by this time in history, and based on the political ideas that Vonnegut favored, it can be seen that he aligns with progressivism. According to a biography of Vonnegut’s life by Rodney Allen, some of these ideas included “the protection of the earth’s fragile biosphere,” “decrying the militarization of our county after the terrorist attacks of 2001,” and that “corporate greed, overpopulation and war would win out in the end over simple humanity,” (Allen). When looking at his alignment with progressive ideals, it is no surprise that Vonnegut opposed gun ownership and would likely hold the same view today if he hadn’t passed. When looking at his absurdist views, however, it would seem that he would not care whether or not guns were regulated. 

The absurdist viewpoint is an intriguing one. Absurdists’ main belief is that there is no rhyme or reason to the universe and therefore life is void of meaning. This is where the name “absurdism” gets its meaning. Absurdists find that the universe is full of absurdity and only absurdity. They believe that there is no point in finding any order because the concept of order is a human construct used to try and make sense of the world. However, some absurdists hold the belief that since the universe is meaningless, people are free to find their meaning and purpose in life. This is a more optimistic take on absurdism that Kurt Vonnegut subscribed to. Because of this line of thinking, he seemed to value human life more than other absurdists. This can be seen in a speech he gave, in which he said, “There’s only one rule that I know of, Goddamit, you’ve got to be kind!” (Marino). This is a contributing factor to his strong feelings about gun control. If he believes that everyone has meaning, then one can only assume that he finds life to be precious and therefore doesn’t think that it should be taken away. Another cause for his strong opinion on gun ownership could stem from his experiences with firearms.

In the biography by Allen, it is said that World War II started when Vonnegut was sixteen years old and he joined the fight at age twenty. When he entered the army, he “was shipped off to Europe, where he almost immediately was captured by the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge” and spent the remainder of the war in Dresden, Germany (Allen). During his time in Dresden, Vonnegut endured very heavy trauma:
On February 13, 1945, British and American bombers destroyed the city by dropping high explosives followed by incendiary bombs. The resulting firestorm turned the non-militarized city into an inferno that killed up to 60,000 civilians… Vonnegut’s job for weeks after the bombing was to gather up and burn the remains of the dead. (Allen) 
This likely started his exploration and adoption of his absurdist beliefs and was the inspiration for Slaughterhouse-Five. This trauma followed Vonnegut for the rest of his life and altered his worldview. Through the traditional absurdist lens, this event can be seen as the world having no meaning and as just a series of absurd happenings. But, through Vonnegut’s unique view, it can be interpreted that since there is no meaning in the universe, one can assign meaning to their life and make sense of the universe in this way. Rather than chalking everything up to randomness and not doing anything about the problems he saw in the world, Vonnegut used his own experiences and trauma to base his beliefs on and advocate for what he thought was right. This included gun ownership, as the main trauma in his life stemmed from war and the use of weapons that killed innocent people. 

Kurt Vonnegut was a brilliant writer that challenged readers’ perspectives and broke all of their preconceived notions about how the universe functioned. He also used his influence, belief system, and personal experience to advocate for what he thought to be pressing matters of his time, most notably gun violence. As it stands today, gun violence hasn’t gone away and continues to be a major issue facing the world. If he were still alive, Vonnegut would undoubtedly hold his opinions on the subject of gun control and continue advocating to preserve life. Although his outlook on the universe and order was bleak, he found life precious and worth saving. Kurt Vonnegut’s legacy lives on as his works continue to inspire readers and advocates to follow in his footsteps.