by Sunnyjane
At the conclusion of her Farewell to the 112th Congress show on January 4, Rachel Maddow spoke touchingly about the Newtown massacre and compared the 113th Congress's being sworn in to the first day of school: The president says he wants national action to stop gun violence. Can
this Congress do it? Today is Day One.
Guns! America Needs More Guns!
With cockeyed optimism, American gun control proponents were naive enough -- and hopeful enough -- to take Wayne LaPierre at his word when he said in a statement on the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings: The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.
So it came to pass that on the one-week anniversary of that horrific day, and ninety minutes after a national moment of silence in memory of the victims, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association literally stunned the world with his pronouncements at a packed press conference. So atrocious were LaPierre's meaningful contributions that even the conservative Murdoch-owned New York Post was appalled.
The NRA spends millions of dollars a year to ensure that no adequate gun legislation ever gets introduced in the House, much less passed. Until legislators in both the House and Senate have the guts to turn their backs on this repressive lobbying organization, the current $3.5 Billion gun industry will continue to grow, and Americans will continue to die from Second Amendment freedoms.
Bad Guys with Guns vs. Good Guys with Guns
A gun is made to kill, and it takes no distinguishing interest in who is pulling the trigger. By whose definition shall we tell the difference between who is good and who is bad before it is too late?
The oopsie defense works in a court of law, but it will not resurrect the seven-year-old boy who was accidentally shot to death by his father, who thought his hand gun was not loaded. Nor did it save the father recently shot and killed in Virginia by his thirteen-year-old son, who mistook him for a deer.
Money and positions of power do not make gun owners immune to mistakes and accidents. In February 2006, then-Vice President Dick Cheney shot and wounded an acquaintance, seventy-eight-year-old Harry Whittington, while quail hunting.
Two days after the accident, the injured man suffered a non-fatal silent heart attack due to at least one lead-shot pellet lodged in or near his heart.
Both men were long-time hunters and members of the NRA.
Being a good guy does not prevent gun violence by people who can easily take advantage of a gun in the home, per the massacre in Newtown on December 14, 2012.
How the House Will Deal with Gun Control Legislation
End Note
I strongly suggest that before the representatives in the House vote on a bill to ban semi-automatic weapons that they be required to attend a closed-door meeting and see the police photos of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims. Perhaps actually coming face-to-face with the bodies of twenty six-and-seven year olds who were shot -- some as many as eleven times -- will have a positive effect on how they vote to ban those horrible weapons.
But I doubt it.
End Note 2
January 9, 2013: In the twenty-five days since the gun massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, 695 Americans have been killed by guns.
Guns! America Needs More Guns!
With cockeyed optimism, American gun control proponents were naive enough -- and hopeful enough -- to take Wayne LaPierre at his word when he said in a statement on the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings: The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.
So it came to pass that on the one-week anniversary of that horrific day, and ninety minutes after a national moment of silence in memory of the victims, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association literally stunned the world with his pronouncements at a packed press conference. So atrocious were LaPierre's meaningful contributions that even the conservative Murdoch-owned New York Post was appalled.
The NRA spends millions of dollars a year to ensure that no adequate gun legislation ever gets introduced in the House, much less passed. Until legislators in both the House and Senate have the guts to turn their backs on this repressive lobbying organization, the current $3.5 Billion gun industry will continue to grow, and Americans will continue to die from Second Amendment freedoms.
Bad Guys with Guns vs. Good Guys with Guns
A gun is made to kill, and it takes no distinguishing interest in who is pulling the trigger. By whose definition shall we tell the difference between who is good and who is bad before it is too late?
The oopsie defense works in a court of law, but it will not resurrect the seven-year-old boy who was accidentally shot to death by his father, who thought his hand gun was not loaded. Nor did it save the father recently shot and killed in Virginia by his thirteen-year-old son, who mistook him for a deer.
Money and positions of power do not make gun owners immune to mistakes and accidents. In February 2006, then-Vice President Dick Cheney shot and wounded an acquaintance, seventy-eight-year-old Harry Whittington, while quail hunting.
 |
| Whittington after being shot by Dick Cheney |
Both men were long-time hunters and members of the NRA.
 |
| Dick Cheney with Wayne LaPierre (to his right) and Kayne Robinson, NRA President (H/T Sleuth1) |
How the House Will Deal with Gun Control Legislation
End Note
I strongly suggest that before the representatives in the House vote on a bill to ban semi-automatic weapons that they be required to attend a closed-door meeting and see the police photos of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims. Perhaps actually coming face-to-face with the bodies of twenty six-and-seven year olds who were shot -- some as many as eleven times -- will have a positive effect on how they vote to ban those horrible weapons.
But I doubt it.
End Note 2
January 9, 2013: In the twenty-five days since the gun massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, 695 Americans have been killed by guns.
No comments:
Post a Comment