On this Christmas Day, take a moment to reflect that since the Newton Massacre, 34,472 Americans have been killed by guns. But, because of political cowardice and the blood money flowing freely to and from Firearm Manufacturers We, the People have to live under constant threat from criminals and the delusions of lunatics like Wayne LaPierre.
Another gun lunatic, Larry Pratt continues his organizations' ceaseless campaign of blaming the victims of gun violence for their deaths and praising gun owners as god's chosen people. Of course, Faux News gives Pratt airtime to voice his vile, frightening and ignorant views.
But, victim blaming is part of the strategy adopted by the Gun Nuts. Fear is another potent weapon.
In the US Congress, fear of the Gun Lobby and rancorous speeches about the Second Amendment Shall Not Be Infringed have made for a cowardly, wishy-washy approach. Typically, the eventual bill is a clunky, hastily, cobbled together bunch of contradictory nonsense which fails because they go too far in the views of the lunatic fringe gun nutters and irk gun control advocates for not going far enough. While the rest of us groan over the malapropisms inserted in the text which shows that whomever wrote the bills doesn't have enough, if any, technical knowledge about what they're trying to legislate.
Another gun lunatic, Larry Pratt continues his organizations' ceaseless campaign of blaming the victims of gun violence for their deaths and praising gun owners as god's chosen people. Of course, Faux News gives Pratt airtime to voice his vile, frightening and ignorant views.
"All of these gun-free zones are murder magnets, and we’ve simply got to get rid of them."If this had a scintilla of truth then no police officers or law enforcement officials would ever be shot or killed in the line of duty because they are always armed. Here's some more inane prattle from Larry Pratt, about how God loves guns and judges those who don't pack heat everyday,
"And we should be praying that we will all be able to go around armed because that will be one outward indicator that we have God’s blessing. If we are walking around like they are in New York and San Francisco, we are under his judgement."Blaming Gun-Free Zone for the murderous rampages of Second Amendment Heroes is the akin to blaming homeowners for the actions of burglars, if you didn't own that home it couldn't have been burglarized.
But, victim blaming is part of the strategy adopted by the Gun Nuts. Fear is another potent weapon.
In the US Congress, fear of the Gun Lobby and rancorous speeches about the Second Amendment Shall Not Be Infringed have made for a cowardly, wishy-washy approach. Typically, the eventual bill is a clunky, hastily, cobbled together bunch of contradictory nonsense which fails because they go too far in the views of the lunatic fringe gun nutters and irk gun control advocates for not going far enough. While the rest of us groan over the malapropisms inserted in the text which shows that whomever wrote the bills doesn't have enough, if any, technical knowledge about what they're trying to legislate.
Of course, complicating matters is unlimited buckets of blood money Wayne LaPierre has at his disposal with which to threaten or cajole lawmakers. Thus, of the 109 Gun Laws passed after Newton, the vast majority (70) have eased restrictions and made acquiring, carrying and using guns easier.
Starting next year, Illinois will have a concealed carry law. Cook County Sheriff Tommy Dart has correctly labelled this law "horrifically unworkable" and derided the blood money soaked Illinois legislators who wrote it, "What in God’s name were these people thinking? What were they thinking?"
Sheriff Dart is correct about the law being unworkable because the background checks installed in the law are to be conducted by Illinois State Police, who are going to do a standard name check of the applicant. Because of manpower limitations and HIPA laws ISP is not going to go speak with neighbors of the applicants or be able to find out if someone is unbalanced if they've never officially been institutionalized.
Sheriff Dart, who deals with the 3rd largest metro area in the Nation, wanted automatic disqualifications for known criminals with gun offenses, domestic abusers and those with recorded gang affiliations, but Rep. Brandon Phelps, the Harrisburg Democrat, the prime sponsor of the law has said that standing objections are "not part of the law".
On the topic of Colorado, another responsible gun owner stood his ground, shot and killed an intruder to defend his property. It turns out the dastardly criminal breaking into the basement was his 14-year old step-daughter sneaking back into the home at 6 in the morning.
No target identification at a time not generally associated with burglaries. This is going to take some investigation by the local PD, but I'd look at the history between the two and see if the obviously willful stepdaughter and stepdad haven't had a few domestic disputes and the "responsible" gun owning stepdad didn't care for his now deceased stepdaughter.
See the act of owning a gun ipso facto makes one a "responsible" gun owner.
A canard amongst Gun Nuts is that 'An Armed Society is a Polite Society', Chicago's gun violence and the 34,000 dead Americans across the Nation show this to be false. What Stand Your Ground Laws and Concealed Carry have brought about is a Shoot First cause Dead Men Tell No Tales and create the potential for turning every minor scuffle or verbal disagreement into a gunfight.
6 comments:
I am proud to be a follower of your blog. I am also a little envious of your writing skill. best wishes for the new year, the rat
PS I hate word verification
Gene, If it would prevent the next mass shooting would you agree to never touch another firearm again for the rest of your life?
Patricia, sadly even on xmas day
Mohave rat, thank you for you the compliment it's not necessary, your thougths are welcomed. Sorry about the word verification but then the spam becomes burdensome.
Chickenhammer, I've dealt with this before... Please just call a qualified authority and tell them you are hearing voices. It'll be okay. The voices are only in your head.
Gene, why do you deflect with a red herring rather than answering a simple what-if question?
Do you find it interesting that a large percent of mass shootings happen in 'gun free' zones? What percentage of that do you think can be correlated to coincidence?
Ch,
Because you and the gun nuts who postulate this fallacy of "gun free zones" being the cause of mass shootings are excluding the middle and arguing in bad faith. I've been in Illinois and federal court houses hundreds of times and there has yet to be a mass shooting. Why? Because of enforcement! And that (enforcement) of gun laws is exactly what the nra is fighting against.
Gene, I've never tried to make the case that gun free zones cause mass shootings.
To say that gun free zones 'cause' mass shootings is as wrong as saying that parking a car with valuables left in plain sight will 'cause' automobile burglary.
The problem with the mass shooter is the shooter. Eventually we will discover a way to stop the shooter before the first shot. Until then shouldn't we be allowed to defend ourselves?
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