Bullets Don’t Listen To Arguments
A Facebook friend recently posted the article “6 Reasons Your Right-Wing Friend Isn’t Budging On Gun Control”, which I read and had thoughts on.
First point: The author points out that at Chirstmas, a family member said “It appears that if your [step] daughter was killed because of gun violence you wouldn’t even care!” The issue is that they would AFTER she is shot and killed, but not before. Somehow, even after all of these school shootings, some people think that nothing is going to happen to them, therefore, there is no reason to worry.
The author also states “It is a true dehumanization of Second Amendment advocates to think that we didn’t see the events unfolding in Las Vegas and have the same ache deep in our souls.” The issue here is that these folks are not feeling sympathy or empathy. They are feeling guilt. They know in their hearts if they actually just fought, even a little, for any gun control laws, those kids might be in a classroom instead of a morgue.
Later, you find this line “As hard as it may be to imagine, a person can watch this, ache, hurt, and be profoundly affected by these events and not change his or her position on the Second Amendment.” These folks dehumanize themselves. They make guns more important than people. I pulled up the Constitution, and right there in the Preamble, it says “insure domestic Tranquility”. What part of school shootings insure domestic tranquility?
And just to deal with the Second Amendment, which teenage high schoolers signed up for a militia to protect America against kids in classrooms?
Next, the author attempts to separate the NRA from gun owners. No wonder! Just look at all of the crazy things NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre says! And he dodged the draft. If he served in Vietnam, like many fine Americans did, I think he’d have a very different view on guns. And maybe on life as well.
In “The Most Prominent Policy Ideas Have Nothing to Do With the Tragedy”, the Washington Post article tells you that the only way to stop mass shootings is to severely curtail and restrict access to firearms, just like Australia and the UK did. This is a point the author missed completely. According to “The Mass Shootings Fix” by Leah Libresco and Carl Bialik, “Australia and Great Britain made extensive changes in gun policy in response to mass shootings two decades ago, and there has only been one mass shooting in either place since.”
I answered the fifth point in the article, “We Seriously Don’t Care About Gun Laws in Other Countries” with the following link: https://www.congress.gov/content/conan/pdf/GPO-CONAN-2017-10-3.pdf. It is an engrossing discussion, yet, to be clear, there is no reason for a teenager to have access to any gun or have that gun at any school.
In the sixth and final point, the author states “…I believe the framers knew that liberty is only achieved when the citizenry is known to keep tyrannical government, and those who would do me harm, at bay.”
The U.S. Government has that covered. Just check out our military might from Wikipedia:
“ As of 2016, the U.S. spends about US $580 billion annually to fund its military forces and Overseas Contingency Operations. Put together, the U.S. constitutes roughly 40 percent of the world’s military expenditures. The U.S. Armed Forces has significant capabilities in both defense and power projection due to its large budget, resulting in advanced and powerful equipment and its widespread deployment of force around the world, including about 800 military bases outside the United States. The U.S. Air Force is the world’s largest air force, and the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps combined are the world’s second largest air arm. Also, the U.S. Navy is the world’s largest navy by tonnage.”
Bam! What’s your one AR-15 going to do against all of that? Exactly. In terms of militias, The National Guard is the only militia. These other militias sound like they are up to no good to me.
Lastly, back to Facebook. My only comment to the post is as follows: “ While people argue, people are getting shot. Bullets don’t listen to arguments.”
SOURCES:
6 Reasons Your Right-Wing Friend Isn’t Coming To Your Side On Gun Control — http://thefederalist.com/2017/10/06/6-reasons-right-wing-friend-isnt-coming-side-gun-control/
Bill of Rights 2nd Amendment Bearing Arms — https://www.congress.gov/content/conan/pdf/GPO-CONAN-2017-10-3.pdf
Wikipedia: Wayne LaPierre -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_LaPierre#Criticism
Did NRA Leader Wayne LaPierre Receive a Draft Deferment for a ‘Nervous Disorder’?
The National Guard: Legacy — https://www.nationalguard.com/legacy
Washington Post: I Used To Think Gun Control Was The Answer My Research Told Me Otherwise — https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-used-to-think-gun-control-was-the-answer-my-research-told-me-otherwise/2017/10/03/d33edca6-a851-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html?utm_term=.12545243aed5
Wikipedia: United States Armed Forces — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Armed_Forces
