I'm going to say what a blogger can and a politician can't. Guns suck. Guns are bad. I hate guns.
A national gun control strategy is the only hope to stave off our prodigious level of gun violence, but advocating such a policy is more politically dangerous than pushing for cuts in Social Security. That's because a startling majority of Americans like guns. They think guns are good. They would rather kill someone who was trying to break into their house then part with some replaceable property. In fact, I would posit that many Americans would consider such an opportunity to use a gun a highlight of their life.
The divide between fantasy and reality is mind-boggling. The fantasy is that a woman pulls a gun on a potential rapist; the reality is that she is killed by a stalking ex-boyfriend. The fantasy is that Clint Eastwood cleans the neighborhood of gangs -- the reality is that young men of color are killing each other at genocidal rates. We have the highest rate of gun ownership and incarceration in the world -- yet compared to France or Germany our gun homicide rate is sky high. These are murders overwhelmingly committed by someone known by the victim. The idea that millions of Americans are protecting themselves against violent crime by strangers is a delusion, a macho fantasy, a farce.
Suicide by gun is far more common and "successful" here than anywhere else. I have always had an aversion to guns, but this particular fact was brought home rather graphically when my brother shot himself in the chest in his car two years ago, dying instantly. He'd never owned or shot a gun before. He had mental health issues his whole life, and had spun out over his perception that a retinal detachment constituted unbearable suffering. The police officer who dealt with the aftermath asked my sisters and I if we wanted the gun back since it was his property.
At that moment it struck me that there were people who would have said yes, who would have accepted it just as we accepted his car back. I don't get it. I don't get that so many of my fellow Americans relish the idea of having and using a weapon designed to maim or kill another human being. They are so attached to the notion of gun ownership that someone like Jared Loughner can purchase several 30-round magazines and pass a background check with flying colors.
It's absurd to reassure the gun-owners that we're not out to take their arms. It is an impossibility to remove even a fraction of the 270 million guns from circulation. We will keep having massacres on a regular basis in this country. You win.
But enough apology on our side. I think the American obsession with weaponry is deeply pathological. My aversion to violence is the sane, healthy reaction. Their love of it is the mark of a weak, insecure and fearful mindset that views force as a preferred expression of power. It causes death, mayhem and grief.
It is time we call the American attachment to guns what it is: a cancer on the soul of the country.
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Although I have the belief that there are responsible gun owners out there, I was amazed to see that we used so many of the same phrases and imagery in what we wrote. Clint Eastwood, and the question of what people are willing to do with their guns. I brought up the same question...are you really willing to kill someone in cold blood, execute them, because they want to rob you? Does that really warrant a death sentence?
It is a sick and strange gun/death culture in our country. I'm sorry to say that I see no end in sight.
It is a sick and strange gun/death culture in our country."
Consider Exodus 22:2 "If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him,"
While defense of property is generally not a great reason for the use of lethal force, in some states it is allowed depending on the circumstances. However, the problem becomes "Does this person ONLY mean to rob me?"
More suicides than murders, shootings in the USA.
Bullets are forever.
Firearms are NOT the problem.
So why don't we rein in the insanity of trying to fix the problem by addressing the objects used. We have tried this tactic for more than 75 years know with increasing restrictions and little to no effect. How about we instead try to fix the problem by focusing on the actual CAUSES of the problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elLwP0vf4EU
The idea that the sane and lawful should give up their guns and rights because of the insane and lawless would be laughable if this wasn't such a serious issue.
"Give them up for the greater good", something we always hear everytime someone wants to restrict a fundemental right.
Funny you talk of fantasy vs reality while buying into a lot of fantasy yourself.
It's hard to overcome this mindset, especially since five members of the Supreme Court share it.
And I agree with you. We're a gun sick culture.
Guns are not why I own a gun and carry it at work (I work as an armed guard) and off duty as well. I carry a gun to protect against any threat that can cause death or serious physical harm. A gun is not needed to cause that
This may shock you, but people can and do maim and kill with weapons besides guns, and in some cases with no weapon at all. It's not like the world was free from violence before the invension of guns. In fact, in most places it was more violent then it is now.
Men have evolved to be aggressive and violent because it is an essential element to hunting successfully. We are not a non-violent species. I accept that. But to pretend that the availability of guns don't make violence far more likely is simple denial.
If more guns made us safer, Texas would be crime-free, and Mexico would be paradise.
Compare guns deaths in Houston and Copenhagen and get back to me.
I guess there are quite a few Canadians who do in fact veiw them as being part of civilized society.
No that's a reality. See for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NJQK2BscIg
Furthermore, the distinction he makes between criminals who are strangers and criminals the victim knows is totally artificial. When it comes to lawful self defense there is no distinction. Guns are just as effective against someone you know as they are against someone you don't, and using them properly is just as legal.
R Reagan a while back called the Soviet Union and "evil empire". Right now we have an evil empire right here in the USA. It is called the National RIFLE Association. That abominable group even fights for the freedom to by and use military assault guns as symbolized by the M-16. Laughner's gun was almost as bad.. Yes fellas, it was a gun NOT A RIFLE (as the US Marines sometimes recite.) that murdered the 9 year old girl and the others nearby.
There are probably across this country about a half million souls who are mentally disturbed and on the verge of cracking. Our only hope is that elected officials will summon up the guts to take on the massacre enablers, the NRA. For more details consult the Colorado State Bd. of Ed. and the Dean's office at Va. Tech, U. at Blacksburg, Va.
Totally false. The Glock 19 is one the most popular handguns in the nation among police, security guards, and armed citizens alike. It is designed for legitimate self defense, not mass murder. I carry a Glock 17 (slightly larger version of the Glock 19) at my job as an armed guard for a government building. Why does the government trust me to carry such a weapon on their property? Is it because it's ment for mass muder, or because it's good for saving lives?
"That abominable group even fights for the freedom to by and use military assault guns as symbolized by the M-16. Laughner's gun was almost as bad"
Again false. The military version of the M16 is not available on the general public. Only the semi-automtic version is, and that version is specifically made for civilians.
Your view is one that is ignorant of the facts
"Again false. The military version of the M16 is not available on the general public. Only the semi-automtic version is, and that version is specifically made for civilians"
So, "ONLY A SEMI AUTO-- VERSION OF M-16 is available to the GENERAL PUBLIC"