Our country has the highest rate of gun ownership--more than double that of the next nearest country. And we have exponentially greater murders than all other countries combined. Why? Gun advocates say we need MORE guns. I say we need to step back and figure out what we're doing wrong and what other countries are doing right. We have a sick culture of gun worship fueled by the gun lobby and a fraudulent interpretation of the Constitution. We have all been cowed by the NRA and loud-mouthed gun owners and have backed down from every fight.
Yes, I said so-called rights. We ask soldiers to fight and die. Do we now ask little children to do the same to defend this thing that's so "sacred" and "inspired of God"? It may sound like heresy, but I think it's time to rethink this whole damn gun rights thing.
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2012/12/14/mike-grastons-colour-cartoon-for-saturday-december-15-2012/
5 comments:
I own two shotguns and a rifle though I don't hunt anymore. Common sense approaches need to be taken on a wide front. Now.....
I agree and disagree at the same time. I agree that semi-automatic is too much...One can have a gun to protect (!!) him/herself in own property if needed, but having an arsenal of weapons - just too much. I disagree, because I believe the problem is not as much in guns, but more in how children are raised these days, selfishness of parents - raising children is not only providing food and shelter, but also attending to their needs including mental states and conditions... I can talk endlessly about this, but I think the bigger problem resides in people misinterpreting their rights and freedoms.
It would be so simple if this could be reduced to gun ownership. I fear that has little to do with the problem. It is not much more than a whipping boy for a much deeper illness in a country that has lost its way.
We need to learn to love, honor and respect life and each other before any of this will change. Truth and trust are suffocating in this environment and us along with them.
There is no easy place to go to fix this. There is not a single culprit. We have to change our whole point of view to move out of this mire. It has to begin in our hearts and result in a change of attitude and therefore actions.
I agree it's a problem that requires a multi-faceted approach. But my focus is on the assault weapons with high capacity magazines. A 6-year old boy was shot 9 times at close range by such a weapon. An assault weapon enabled the shooter to more damage in a shorter time. All guns are deadly, but these types of guns should not be for civilian use. The assault weapon ban needs to be brought back. For years it has been tabu to even bring up the idea of limiting such guns. In my opinion, those 6 and 7 year old babies were slaughtered and died, not unlike soldiers, for what a bunch of gun nuts think is their God-given constitutional right. If we put gun rights ahead of children's lives, our priorities are terribly terribly wrong. We can no longer say guns are off the table. EVERYTHING has to be on the table.
Bekkieann
Amen, sister. Agree completely. The NRA, the most powerful lobby out there, has changed from a hunting organization 40 years ago to a worshiper of weapons, and the mouthpiece of gun manufacturers.
A renewed ban on assault weapons would be a reasonable start, followed by ban of high capacity magazines. I fear a re-examination of the 2nd amendment is not in the cards, it is worshiped as a deity in it's own right by gun fetish idiots.
What will happen, I fear, is that in a matter of weeks this horrid killing will fade from public memory. Then, in weeks or months, another will occur, and we'll be back at ground zero. Why should innocent people pay that price?
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