23 | July | 2012 | Existential Ennui

Tags

2nd Amendment, gun control, murders, NRA, US, violence, Wayne La Pierre

Yeah, it’s another one of those tragedies. You know. The ones that happen to somebody else’s kids, somebody else’s father, somewhere else.

It’s a shame. It’s awful. Another sick individual who explodes in a rage which for some demented reason includes killing as many innocent people as possible.

And the weapon of choice is always guns. Always. We tell ourselves–at least the politicians among us, that (insert killer of the month) would have used something else–bombs or poisons if guns had been unavailable. Sure he would have. Sure.

And let’s not forget that ever popular slogan “it’s not guns that kill people, it’s people who kill people.” They just use guns.

I recently saw some numbers. They are simply appalling. There are 90 guns for every one hundred persons in the US. Eighty-five people DIE in the US every DAY due to guns. It is the leading cause of death in the African-American community. There were something like 58 deaths in Great Britain last year due to gun violence. For the YEAR. They can’t even meet our DAILY total.

I grew up with guns in the house. Pistols but mostly shotguns and rifles. My dad was a hunter and we ate rabbit and deer and pheasant regularly. I have nothing against those who hunt for sport, though I don’t really get the “fun” of whacking animals. But I don’t argue that it should be banned.

But I see no need for assault weapons and big clips that allow rapid fire of a hundred or more bullets. Nobody needs that to hunt. And frankly, if you enjoy shooting at ranges, there is no reason why you can’t go and rent a gun for use there. If that kind of thing floats your boat.

Did you go to the mall last week? When’s the last time you took in a movie? Shopped for groceries? Went to a museum, restaurant, or farmer’s market? Are you sure that some sick-minded young man has decided that this is the day, and this is the location that he is going to “even the score” against the world. Can you be assured that your child, yourself, or your loved one won’t be there and in the line of fire?

Well, that is always going to be the case of course. Random acts of violence are part of our world, and that includes everyone I assume. But surely the odds rise drastically if you live in the United States of America. Here your chances are hugely higher.

There’s an interesting article by Ezra Klein on some violence statistics. Violence over-all, along with gun ownership is declining, but we are so far out in the front versus the rest of the world that it’s still a frightening picture. And the statistics show rather clearly that the more the guns there are, the more violence there is, and states with stricter laws have less violence.

Of course the NRA will have none of this. They begin by claiming that any mere mention of gun control is “politicizing” the tragedy. Bull.

Why this lobby has this kind of control is simply shocking. I picked up this twitter post which in fact says it all:

Like Grover Norquist and taxes, Wayne La Pierre has the Republicans and most of the Democrats afraid to open their mouths when it comes to guns. In Wayne’s wacky world, the very fact that President Obama has taken not ONE step toward limiting gun rights, is proof positive that he will abolish the 2nd Amendment if he gets a second term in office. (This is coupled with the insanely untrue claim that Obama is secretly working with UN to have guns declared illegal in the US. This was vaguely alluded to by Willard the Liar in his remarks that he would “never give away any of our sovereignty to the UN” in a speech recently. The average person probably had no idea what he referred to but it is code for the crazy gun lovers lobby. They got the message that Willard was on their side, and their delusions were valid by inference.)

A few Democrats are introducing legislation that would ban the sale of assault weapons and big clips. It will die in committee, as even most Democrats want no part of such “controversy” in an election year. The President remains silent as the Willard.

Soon it will be on to another topic. This awful thing will be forgotten.

Until.

The next one.

And we will start all this crap again, and end in the same place again.

Only the victims will change.

Will you be one?

It’s anybody’s guess isn’t it.

Six Facts about Guns, Violence and Gun Control

America’s Deadly Devotion to Guns