It's another Tuesday in America. I'm already well behind on the latest school shooting. Of course.
The details are more visceral now as one of students sheltering in place captured digital audio and video of the 15 year old(!) shooter telling the students he is a sheriff's deputy and "it's safe to come out."
3 teenage lives were cut short. 8 others wounded and now facing decades of physical and emotional healing. The shooter taken into custody, of course, because some people are inherently good and just having a bad day and thus aren't shot on sight. Or "justifiably" killed while resisting arrest.
Gun Humping Extremists have been conducting a massive social experiment: More Guns = Safer Nation. This is demonstrably untrue. The United States is awash in guns. And thus we are beset with deaths and woundings from guns.
There have been other high profile shootings recently as well as little talked about mass killings:
- In a widely-viewed incident in Lubbock, Texas a child custody dispute turned deadly when a little man decided he'd use his big gun to murder a guy. The responses to this Fox News post calling it self-defense is the whole crux of the rightwing fascination with guns.
- In Fort Wayne, a twenty year old killed his little sister, mother and father and then himself. His grandmother escaped. This happened the same day as the Michigan school shooting.
- In Georgia, a domestic dispute ended in 4 deaths including an officer in recruit training. This happened the same day as the Michigan school shooting.
Gun Nuts want the power to kill at a moment's notice and then claim self-defense. Conservatives have set up a nice Catch-22 (call it the Rittenhouse-22 if you like) Bring a gun into a fraught or dangerous situation, escalate the incident, then use the escalation as justification for "self-defense". 1) Start a Fight. 2) Kill the guy if he Fights back. It's basic Might makes Right. Bring a Gun and say you were in fear of your life and anyone you shoot becomes a "lawful" act.
As a corollary the US has been faced with a large scale Catch-22. Gun Makers and the NRA have ensured criminals have easy access to firearms and produce more and more everyday. Flood the United States with weapons and then declare since All the "Bad Guys" have guns only a "Good Guy" with a gun can stop them. An unstoppable circle.
Which leads us to public support for stricter gun laws and gun control; the Republican Party is 100% unified against any gun control and when all levels of government are taken into account, Republicans have majority of government.
Republicans have steadily worked towards making the Gun the Final Arbiter of Law. When Mad Nazi Cawthorn, Major Traitor Greene, or Lauren Dick Flasher Boebert parade around with guns they are explicitly stating they will use them to settle all disputes. They don't have to or even try to make any cogent or coherent arguments. For example:
Famously, Australia enacted strict gun regulations and controls in 1996 after the Port Arthur massacre. Since then, Zero Mass Shootings...
Meanwhile in the United States, Total killed and wounded by gunfire every year is now approaching 100,000. The Gun Violence Archive, uses only verified data, therefore it's not subject to the NRA lies and Gun Nut fantasies of guns being used a Million times a year to defend LIFE!
I have always assumed that when you get down to it NRA, gun manufacturers, Republican poseurs and phonies, or ostentatious gun display nuts, really don't believe that more guns, less regulations, and Stand your Ground laws make Americans safer but, do it for the political power, monetary gain and the #OwntheLibs lolz...
But, when you pretend to be something for long enough that's what you are. In reality, gun nuts don't believe they will ever be on the wrong side of a barrel. And those killed and wounded by guns? Well, to get back to The Deserving & The Undeserving they had it coming (for voting for DemocRATs, for being in a gun free zone, for any number of rightwing fantasies about the power of the gun).
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