What happened in Newtown, Conn., and suburban Portland last week could easily happen in Bend.
Central Oregon is an outdoorsman's paradise and that includes hunting.
There are plenty of guns here.
But, real hunting does not mean using semi-automatic assault weapons with 30-shot clips.
No, such weapons are only needed to kill multiple people in the shortest amount of time as possible.
Thanks to the Supreme Court, the rights of the killer in Newtown to use such high-powered weaponry to murder 20 kindergartners and seven adults, supersedes the ability of the community of Newtown, or any city anywhere in this country, to ban such weapons of warfare.
In essence, we are banned from protecting ourselves through non-lethal methods.
America, sadly, is addicted to violence and guns.
Newtown isn't going to change those obsessions overnight.
There will be plenty of blather about funding mental health programs, curbing the sale of assault weapons and arming teachers.
You can get bet which one will likely happen.
Imagine this scenario: In order to get a teaching credential, a teacher must be proficient in the use of a Glock pistol. Also, that teacher must buy his or her own gun and take yearly classes to keep current with usage of that gun. Plus, wearing a Kevlar vest would become part of the dress code for teachers.
Next, the NRA and other gun nuts will want to arm schoolchildren themselves.
Because the Supreme Court made our 2nd Amendment of the Constitution the de facto 1st Amendment, we can't be like Japan or the United Kingdom, which ban most firearms and have few gun-related murders.
Lord knows we can't hire armed guards for our schools, because we don't want to pay for those guards.
Afterall, it's all about cutting spending not creating another entitled class of government workers whose subsequent pensions will drain our coffers.
So, we are stuck with what we have.
The massacre in Newtown, which has followed scores of massacres around the country, will happen again and again.
There will be more memorials and more grief.
We should just leave our flags at half-staff on a permanent basis.
For television, the horrific gun carnage provides another form of "entertainment" around which to sell ads.
Hollywood sure knows how profitable violent movies are to the bottom line.
This is who we are as a nation. We tolerate the killings of kindergartners, and thousands more each year, by firearms.
This is what the price of freedom means to gun nuts and the NRA.
This is America.
As always, if you feel that you must kill someone, do us all a favor and kill yourself first.
So where do you start, where do you stop on gun control? Take away all guns or just fix the issues with ownership laws, accountability, gun show loopholes, ban assault rifles and high cap magazines? High cap mags are currently illegal in California and assault rifles were banned in the 90's but they still sold like gang busters on the black market. You're going ask the people that ran assault rifles to Mexican gangsters and allow banks to launder drug cartel money, to take away someone's right to own a gun? With all due respect to shooting victims everywhere, be careful what you ask for. I think there's a need and a lot of room to tighten up on gun ownership issues. The gun show loophole needs to be closed. I'm ok with a mandatory waiting period. In Oregon, I can purchase and walk out with just about anything in 15 minutes. I think there are enough domestic violence issues and just angry people in general to warrant a mandatory waiting period for any firearm. I think some sort of tracking on private sales is in order. I feel there needs to be some accountability for gun owners as well. By law, it should be the responsibility of the gun owner to keep it out of the hands of children and/or mentally ill family and friends. Why did the kids at columbine have access to these weapons? The mother of the loon that shot Gabrielle Giffords stated several times, that she feared it was her son before they even announced the shooters name on TV. She knew her son was capable and said nothing. I believe this latest tragedy has that familiar twist. Why do these people have easy access to any sort of weapon? We've somehow arrived at the point where gun nuts are advocating for teachers to carry firearms in the classroom. How did we get to that point as a society and what do we need to do to restore that innocence we enjoyed as children? OJ's wife would still be alive if he wasn't there to stab her. Banning assault rifles and hi cap magazines doesn't resolve the issue. A pistol is still deadly even if it only holds 12 rounds by law. A criminal will still find a way to get their hands on an AK47 if they need one. As a parent, I totally get both sides of this argument but be careful of what you ask for. Fear is a very powerful motivator. Be clear on what problem it is you're trying to resolve before you giving up your rights to do so.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing on the news tonight. They said those kids in Conn. will be going back to school, and the school will be heavily, heavily guarded. Said that school was going to be the "Safest school in America." Notice that in order to make the school the "Safest school in America," they put a bunch of armed guards around it. Bet they have hi cap clips, too. Just sayin...
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog post. Are you familiar with the work of Ceasefire Oregon? Check them out to learn more about gun safety law and efforts at www.ceasefireoregon.org
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