People who've followed my blog for a while know I've participated in a lot of actions with Code Pink. I was actually arrested for disrupting a Senate Committee hearing featuring John "Death Squad" Negroponte. I like and respect Medea Benjamin, who was removed protesting an NRA news conference. I've carried anti-war banners with her, and she's done a lot of good work helping Palestinians. But I have to say I don't agree with her views on the NRA.
A while back when I lived in San Francisco I often went around carrying signs in high traffic areas, for no other reason than it seemed to be a lot better use of my time than to sit around moping about how I lost everything I ever cared about. One of the signs said something like, "Defend Our Bill of Rights." A tough old grandpa pulled up to me and called out, "Does that include the 2nd amendment?" in a cynical tone of voice. I replied, "Without that one I doubt we'd have the other nine for long!" He smiled and drove away, satisfied with my response.
Look, I wish we had no need for assault rifles, banana clips and what have you. They're for killing people. That's what they're designed to do. But you have to admit they also serve a peaceful purpose -- as a deterrent.
Let's assume for a minute that the Sandy Hook Shooting was not in fact a cynical manufactured attempt to disarm the public. And Adam Lanza didn't have access to an assault rifle. What's to stop him from rushing into the school with an axe, a chainsaw, a can of gasoline and a lighter ... see what I mean, folks? If you want to hurt a random bunch of people, there are several ways to go about it. If you want to take out a specific person (say, a bad guy) from a safe distance, a gun is the only way to go.
In the hands of a well-trained person, it is the great equalizer. But no one ever talks about the lives guns have actually saved, do they? And don't tell me I have nothing to fear from my government. The US government doesn't bring order to the countries it invades, it brings chaos. If you want to ban things that kill people, why not start with automobiles, cigarettes, and ... oh, yeah, WAR.
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3 comments:
Or ban incompetent doctors, who are responsible for over 100,000 deaths a year or Big Pharma, killing off around 100,000 folks a year, but wee never see the screaming headlines talking about those issues.
Yet somehow we never see countries with stringent gun laws dealing with chain saw massacres, an ax, a gasoline lighter, etc.
Are you my friend from high school Heather? BTW, where is your new blog?
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