I
haven't posted in months, but that was before I was on Twitter and had
followers. So I'm starting again. I heard some of the Republican pundits AND
members of the U.S. Congress saying that "now is not the time to talk about gun-control laws." I would bet Mitt Romney's $10,000 that any victim of the horrific
shooting that happened in Aurora, CO, would think that a wonderful way to honor
those who lost their lives and their families, plus those who were injured would
be to DO SOMETHING about people having access to more protective gear than our
soldiers on the front. They would be honored by a change to the assault weapons
sales, along with the purchase online of exorbitant amounts of bullets. At
least they could have some peace that this did not happen in vain. Small
consolation I know, but at least it's better to do something positive; and it's
shameful to do nothing at all.
I am a parent, and I would like to
know that my daughter & her boyfriend could go to the movies and only be
frightened by what is on the screen, not fearing for their lives. There is no
reason whatsoever for a civilian to own an assault weapon. Nada. Zilch. None. So
why are we going through another tragic event like the one that happened in
Columbine or VATech, Tucson, AZ, et al? Because the NRA threatens people running for office
that it's their way or the bullet-ridden highway. But our citizens do nothing.
Of course, the
shooter is still "alleged" to have killed 12 and wounded 58 others; so it is his
fault. But he was enabled by the NRA and their ridiculously lax gun laws. But we
need to have a conversation about this NOW, since it's impossible to do last
week, say Thursday afternoon ... Responsible citizens may be allowed to have guns
for hunting or protecting their homes & families (altho I don't necessarily
believe that part), but an assault weapon should only be used by the police (in
DIRE circumstances) and the military.
And all gun owners should be held
accountable for their actions; i.e., hospital bills, overtime for police and
other first-responders, as well as the funerals for those who have died. How is
this a political argument? It's a humane argument. As much as people have the
right to bear arms (tho there was NOTHING in the Constitution about AK's), so
too do people have the right to go shopping or to a movie w/out wondering if
they'll make it out of the mall or theater alive.
Please, NRA, use common sense.
Don't regard gun ownership higher than the value of a life. Do it now, while we
are still bleeding from this senseless act of violence, not when we are finished
grieving and push it out of our minds.
I wrote the post below on my blog at fairnessactivist.blogspot.com in July, but after seeing Bob Costas on Lawrence O'Donnell's show speaking out about the horrific murder/suicide committed by the Kansas City Chiefs linebacker I had to comment again. I'm not mentioning his name, because it's been out there enough. I do want to ask the same question Mr. Costas spoke about while quoting a reporter ... if not now, when? Since my prior blog post, we have heard of all too many unnecessary deaths perpetrated by someone with a gun. Two weeks ago, another innocent teenager who just happened to be playing music too loud in his car was shot by someone who was under the influence of alcohol. The man who allegedly shot and killed a teen was waiting for his girlfriend to come out of a convenience store with wine. All he had to do was deal with the so-called noise for a couple minutes and drive off, like he did after he shot the boy. But this man, once again allegedly, took it upon himself and kill the boy over music that was too loud for his sensibility, which was obviously in doubt if sense tells someone that in order to get your point across to someone who is ignoring you, you shoot to kill.
In a world in which the way to settle disputes is to attack instead of try to communicate with words and a cool temper, this seems to be a very sad state of how our society has devolved and become immune to violence. "Kill one person, it's murder; kill 100,000, it's national security." This quote from Robert McNamara who was Sec'y of Defense during the Viet Nam War. He didn't say that then, however; he said it during an interview for a documentary 30 years later. Isn't hind sight always 20/20?
But as I said in my post below, WHEN is the right time to talk about gun control? A bullet should cost $500 (Chris Rock says $5,000), because perhaps one would think twice about using a killing machine. Ammunition should be more costly for the shooter than it is for the victim. I would like to thank Bob Costas for speaking out, and all he did was quote another reporter. Here's what I thought last summer, and I've not changed my mind!
Tuesday, July 24,2012
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Politics
vs Humanity
