So I figure I will start with one of THE most controversial topics near and dear to all our hearts in some way or another....
Gun control... *gasp*... yup, I said it... Gun CONTROL. We need it.
Now don't misunderstand, I am not one of those people who walks around insisting that ALL guns be removed from the streets. I am not so delusional that I would actually believe the most heinous criminals to walk the dirty streets of Manhattan will make a bee line for their friendly neighborhood police precinct and willingly fork over their firearms. I also know that violence is inherent in the human nature and one way or another people will be robbed, raped, and murdered. No, I do not think it is rational to start removing steak knives over four inches in length off the Bed Bath and Beyond shelves. I fully understand that those who want to do harm, will find a way no matter what precautions are in place... HOWEVER, we don't have to make it easier.
I probably should have started with this next statement but hey, gotta get the proverbial juices flowing and get you all riled up, right? We have a gun in our home. We are gun owners... legal gun owners. I have no issue with responsible adults owning a legal, registered firearm.
My issue(s) with gun ownership are these:
Now... for the really touchy part that sums up a lot of what I've said so far. Let's take the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for example. We "know" that Adam Lanza had mental instabilities. His mother and his educational team chalked his behavior up to him being "gifted". James Egan Holmes, the shooter who killed 12 and wounded 70 at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora Colorado on July 20, 2012 had a history of mental instability. In the span of four months he purchased four different firearms and an unnecessary amount of ammunition. Maybe if psychological testing were mandatory the lives of 12 people could have been spared that day. Maybe if training had been mandatory 26 people would not have died in an elementary school. Maybe. Maybe it still would have happened. We honestly will never know. I can tell you that if there were even some small, minuscule chance that a tragedy like what happened in Connecticut on December 14, 2012, or in Colorado on July 20, 2012, or also in Colorado April 20, 1999 or ... well you get the picture, I would hope that all of us would be more than willing to submit to any type of background check, training, what have you.
Another thing I have heard that drives me absolutely crazy is... if everyone had been carrying a firearm the death toll would probably not have been so high. If the teachers had been able to keep a gun in their desks this probably could have been stopped. Please tell me who in their right mind thinks having a gun in a teachers desk is a fantastic alternative. Yeah, okay, the drawer could be locked... as if none of us has ever forgotten to lock our car or our front door. In the case of the movie theater in Aurora, the shooter released smoke canisters in the theater before he opened fire. Now, first of all, if patrons saw smoke in a movie theater, the first reaction would likely not be to draw their weapon. Someone would probably scream "FIRE" and try to run like hell. Now, lets assume you hear the first shots and you grab your weapon... are you really going to begin shooting blindly into a smoke filled room? Assuming the theater held, lets say, 100 people and assume half are armed... that's 50 guns firing at once plus the initial shooter and the only one who knows what direction to shoot in is the lunatic who started it. And, even assuming one of the 50 killed the crazed maniac, how would anyone know his gunfire versus any one else's? THEY WOULDN'T! Now assume your wife grabbed your kid and started running to get out, you are shooting blind and you end up being the one to shoot your own family. Tell me exactly how you would feel about that. I would be willing to bet you would be singing a different tune.
Lastly (for now :) ) this has to be the most absurd conspiracy theory I have ever heard. Some honestly believe that the government fully fabricated the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for the purposes of furthering the discussion for stricter gun laws. Really people? Seriously?? First, I challenge any one of you who believes this to go to Newtown, CT, and say that to the face of one of the parents. Put in a request with the courts to have the body of one of those "claimed" to have been killed exhumed. No one I have ever challenged has done it so far. That leads me to believe that even they don't believe the absurdity they are spewing from their mouth holes. Eat pie, its better for everyone and what your mouth is for. And think about it; don't you think that the government could have used any one of the assassination attempts or successful assassinations on our presidents to raise the issue of gun control? Oh and here's another thing. If our government truly wanted to try and take away our second amendment rights (who's verbiage is another debatable topic) they are certainly not going to knock on everyone's door and ask politely. People are concerned that our government wants to take over, and these same people argue that we need our guns to prevent a repeat of what happened when we tried to become an independent nation. History lesson - back then we were both armed with the same weapons... muskets... NEWS FLASH!Our military has tanks, drones and long range weaponry. They can institute Marshal Law and there is really not a whole lot we can do about it. Who ever heard of bringing a gun to a drone fight... sheesh. Even if whole towns banded together we wouldn't stand a chance.
Bottom line... get real people. Think for yourselves and maybe one day we won't have to add another name to the already horrifyingly long list of those killed at the hand of someone who should never have had a gun in the first place.
Gun control... *gasp*... yup, I said it... Gun CONTROL. We need it.
Now don't misunderstand, I am not one of those people who walks around insisting that ALL guns be removed from the streets. I am not so delusional that I would actually believe the most heinous criminals to walk the dirty streets of Manhattan will make a bee line for their friendly neighborhood police precinct and willingly fork over their firearms. I also know that violence is inherent in the human nature and one way or another people will be robbed, raped, and murdered. No, I do not think it is rational to start removing steak knives over four inches in length off the Bed Bath and Beyond shelves. I fully understand that those who want to do harm, will find a way no matter what precautions are in place... HOWEVER, we don't have to make it easier.
I probably should have started with this next statement but hey, gotta get the proverbial juices flowing and get you all riled up, right? We have a gun in our home. We are gun owners... legal gun owners. I have no issue with responsible adults owning a legal, registered firearm.
My issue(s) with gun ownership are these:
- BE HONEST! Let's be real about this... an arsenal full of fully automatic rifles is NOT for protecting your home and family. Unless of course you know for certain that the zombie apocalypse is imminent, the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park were actually developed and are on their way here, and King Kong and Godzilla had a love child and their lair is in your back yard. A handgun is for protection... a pump action shotgun is for protection; hell you don't even need ammunition for the shotgun. If I were a criminal breaking into your house and heard a shotgun racked, you can bet sweet Polly's posterior region that would be all you'd see of me in the very far off distance. I don't even have an issue with people who like to collect firearms. It can be a hobby just like anything else. But be truthful about your reason for having 10 gun safes in the basement. You want them. Maybe you like to go to the range regularly. That's cool... we do. Truth is I even have a friend who collects war era rifles. That's cool. For the love of all that is holy please don't tell me you are protecting your family with a fully automatic rifle... you are not, and trying to pull that crap with me insults my intelligence and just generally pisses me off.
- BACKGROUND CHECKS & PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS = MANDATORY - I'm sorry, but if you have a criminal record or a history of mental illness, you SHOULD NOT own a gun. I know people with previous mental issues that willingly admit they should not own a weapon, but they still support gun ownership. They agree that there need to be stricter measures in place to ensure the safety of, not only the general population, but also those with mental illness. Let's make it plain and simple... your grown child has a history of severe depression and has been institutionalized on more than one occasion. He or she can function in society so they have a job, an apartment, a car. One day they are having a particularly bad episode... they are off their meds, etc., etc... they go to the local gun shop and decide they would like to purchase a firearm. The standard background check is performed and the next day they are a proud gun owner and a full fledged member of the NRA. They proceed to take their shiny new weapon to their well maintained apartment and erase themselves from this planet in one of the messiest ways possible. There is absolutely no reason why a convicted criminal or a mentally ill person should be owning a weapon that can injure or kill another human being. If at some point in your life you were deemed unfit to live amongst the rest of the free world, you certainly should not own a gun.
- LICENSURE - This really should be an obvious one. I need a license to drive a car. I need a license to fish. I need a license to hunt... basically I need a license to do a heck of a lot of things... except own a gun. I have never seen so many people argue against gun licensing. In order to drive a car, you need to first take a written test, an eye exam, participate in some kind of training (drivers ed, a five hour course, etc.) and finally pass your road test. Yeah, I know, I know... people drive cars without a license and I think they are terrible people for it. If you don't know how to properly drive a car, or have had your license suspended for one reason or another, you should not be driving and you should be appropriately punished. You are endangering the lives of everyone around you. The same goes for owning a gun and not knowing how the (expletive) to handle it. First and foremost, you can injure or kill yourself. If you do not know how to clean your weapon properly, remove a jam, or what the difference is between a safe weapon and one that is hot you can injure or kill a loved one simply because you are untrained. Please, someone tell me what is wrong with the idea of learning the proper way to handle a weapon, how to maintain it, how to store it safely? Pretend you are 17 and getting your drivers license... it will make it more fun and exciting. I know I couldn't wait to be able to drive.
Now... for the really touchy part that sums up a lot of what I've said so far. Let's take the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for example. We "know" that Adam Lanza had mental instabilities. His mother and his educational team chalked his behavior up to him being "gifted". James Egan Holmes, the shooter who killed 12 and wounded 70 at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora Colorado on July 20, 2012 had a history of mental instability. In the span of four months he purchased four different firearms and an unnecessary amount of ammunition. Maybe if psychological testing were mandatory the lives of 12 people could have been spared that day. Maybe if training had been mandatory 26 people would not have died in an elementary school. Maybe. Maybe it still would have happened. We honestly will never know. I can tell you that if there were even some small, minuscule chance that a tragedy like what happened in Connecticut on December 14, 2012, or in Colorado on July 20, 2012, or also in Colorado April 20, 1999 or ... well you get the picture, I would hope that all of us would be more than willing to submit to any type of background check, training, what have you.
Another thing I have heard that drives me absolutely crazy is... if everyone had been carrying a firearm the death toll would probably not have been so high. If the teachers had been able to keep a gun in their desks this probably could have been stopped. Please tell me who in their right mind thinks having a gun in a teachers desk is a fantastic alternative. Yeah, okay, the drawer could be locked... as if none of us has ever forgotten to lock our car or our front door. In the case of the movie theater in Aurora, the shooter released smoke canisters in the theater before he opened fire. Now, first of all, if patrons saw smoke in a movie theater, the first reaction would likely not be to draw their weapon. Someone would probably scream "FIRE" and try to run like hell. Now, lets assume you hear the first shots and you grab your weapon... are you really going to begin shooting blindly into a smoke filled room? Assuming the theater held, lets say, 100 people and assume half are armed... that's 50 guns firing at once plus the initial shooter and the only one who knows what direction to shoot in is the lunatic who started it. And, even assuming one of the 50 killed the crazed maniac, how would anyone know his gunfire versus any one else's? THEY WOULDN'T! Now assume your wife grabbed your kid and started running to get out, you are shooting blind and you end up being the one to shoot your own family. Tell me exactly how you would feel about that. I would be willing to bet you would be singing a different tune.
Lastly (for now :) ) this has to be the most absurd conspiracy theory I have ever heard. Some honestly believe that the government fully fabricated the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for the purposes of furthering the discussion for stricter gun laws. Really people? Seriously?? First, I challenge any one of you who believes this to go to Newtown, CT, and say that to the face of one of the parents. Put in a request with the courts to have the body of one of those "claimed" to have been killed exhumed. No one I have ever challenged has done it so far. That leads me to believe that even they don't believe the absurdity they are spewing from their mouth holes. Eat pie, its better for everyone and what your mouth is for. And think about it; don't you think that the government could have used any one of the assassination attempts or successful assassinations on our presidents to raise the issue of gun control? Oh and here's another thing. If our government truly wanted to try and take away our second amendment rights (who's verbiage is another debatable topic) they are certainly not going to knock on everyone's door and ask politely. People are concerned that our government wants to take over, and these same people argue that we need our guns to prevent a repeat of what happened when we tried to become an independent nation. History lesson - back then we were both armed with the same weapons... muskets... NEWS FLASH!Our military has tanks, drones and long range weaponry. They can institute Marshal Law and there is really not a whole lot we can do about it. Who ever heard of bringing a gun to a drone fight... sheesh. Even if whole towns banded together we wouldn't stand a chance.
Bottom line... get real people. Think for yourselves and maybe one day we won't have to add another name to the already horrifyingly long list of those killed at the hand of someone who should never have had a gun in the first place.