US must shake its Wild West attitude toward guns
In one bitter week, six dead in Kirkwood, MO and six in DeKalb, IL, an even dozen, from a fusillade of gunfire by two citizens armed and dangerous. This is not counting the other assorted incidents of victims killed by gun-toting citizens in our country last week alone.. I don’t have the exact number of deaths due to weapons legally obtained by the perpetrators. No doubt, that illustrious defender of the faith, ranting their spurious, self-serving interpretation of the Constitution of our right to bear arms, the NRA, keeps this total on their spreadsheets at Washington, DC. headquarters. In this hail of bullets members of this “militia” power-mad lobbying throng must be chanting, ” Hail to the NRA “. How many card-carrying members recited the Lords Prayer attending funerals of their slain friends?
Against an individuals intent on killing scores of others indiscriminately, the evidence is overwhelming that there is scant defense from limiting the initial carnage by officers of the law or average citizens, unarmed or armed with openly displayed or concealed weapons for defense. To those who defend the Missouri concealed-carry law I challenge each of them to be able to respond instantly and effectively to ongoing violence in a manner that would prevent the immediate bloodshed of others and their own imminent demise. At the very least law enforcement gets weapons training; most individuals have little more than rudimentary knowledge of weapons safety and use though they may like to think they are Cool Hand Luke with a fast draw.
Until we as a nation wake up from our 1870’s Wild West attitude toward guns, we will continue to witness these unspeakable, irrational killing rampages which compete for headline-grabbing attention with the daily slaughter of countless civilians and soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both are a consequence of active and wrong-headed decisions we have brought upon ourselves. The ownership of all handguns and assault weapons by other than the appropriate authorities should be banned. Will we still be ringing our hands and hurting as many more people inevitably are taken down by legal and illegal guns? It is one quick step away from a deranged or angered citizen from pulling the trigger upon you and yours. Welcome to Iraq in Missouri.
Laurence C. Day
Ladue
Thanks Eagle Scout.
Tazz, when was the last time a news caster interrupted your favorite program with a message that 200 high school students volunteered at a senior center?
You are getting one side of a story meant to play on your emotions. It is obviously working. Losing 5 people because a man goes crazy tragic and horrible. An emotional person has a knee jerk reaction and wants all guns banned.
If on 9/11 or 9/12, we would have rounded up and deported/killed all young muslim men and banned any new ones from coming into our country, we would have been making the same argument you, Garrison, and others are making concerning guns.
Ignorant ,stupid its funny how when someone put across opinions other than yours you resort to name calling. Most of what I read from Amazed is very mean-spirited. These issues can be debated w/o name calling,ever herd off anger management.
HS,
I believe what you have done is call projecting. While launching an appeal for rationality (#57), you simultaneously launch into an irrational rant. You probably spend so much time around same thinking individuals that you have no idea about the irrationality of your own opinions.
Waiting periods have never shown to have an effect on crime. They are only intended to inconvenience gun buyers to make the anti-gun crowd feel good. When you wish to restrict a right you need to be able to show some compelling evidence of the benefits of the restriction.
You list a whole list of societal problems that you wish gun owners to solve. Sorry, I do not have a simple answer to eliminating crime. However, there is ample evidence that your solutions with make the problem worse,
Finally, your most radical solution is to make third parties responsible for the actions of criminals. This is analogous to blaming McDonalds for obesity. Do you also want to prosecute car manufacturers for auto fatalities? Do you want to accept criminal liability for people killed in gun free zones because laws you support leave them defenseless? Your proposals would not only turn the entire American system of laws on their head, but also reverse centuries of common law that have made western civilization so great. How about holding criminals responsible for their own actions and letting citizens take responsibility for their own safety.
It is very Orwellian to scold others for the supposed sin of irrationality, while making outlandishly irrational arguments.
The left loves to point out the trampled rights of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor. Yet they call for the same type of knee jerk emotional reaction to each new atrocity involving abuse of a gun.
Tazz, I mentioned the word “stupid” because the original post, from amazed, was talking about media bias and you brought in 9-11 conspiracies. I know from time to time these lengthy responses get off topic from the original letter but the whole 9-11 thing came from left field.
David: consider this…if, a few years ago, one of my kids had taken my car in the middle of the night and caused an accident that left someone else dead or injured, I guarantee I would have been sued and held liable for her actions because (a) they were underage and (b) the car was mine.
Shouldn’t the same logic apply to firearms?
Again, you failed to answer the questions, instead, you chose to attack the questioner.
Along the lines of my first paragraph: doesn’t it seem strange that it’s harder for a minor to get hold of a car than it is to get hold of a gun? At least in Illinois, if you’re under 18, you can’t hold title to a car. At what age can a young person legally buy a firearm? I truly don’t know, so don’t call me stupid.
The postings become off topic when the personal attacks begin ………….take a good look around you’ll find its the same ole gang attacking the same ole gang.
I was called ignorant for beliveing what I see on tv thats were the 911 comment came from. I never mentioned a conspiracy I watched the plans hit too.
After rereading My post I was misquoted, I wrote I don’t need the STATS I just turn on the tube. Amazed put his spin on it, ck out #60 =
“so I guess 911 never happened!”- Tazz
To me that is bringing in the whole 911 conspiracy. You were called ignorant for doing something similar. By bringing an irrelevant argument into this forum, you show that you don’t have strong arguments. You’re other arguments and statistics have already been shot down, so you resort to the same knee jerk tag lines that are meant to make those arguing agent you look like bullies. I’m afraid not sir.
Ever herd of sarcasim, you need to go back and reread the comment.