To say that I've had enough of the gun violence and the gun culture in America, would be an understatement. Even though the right wing loves to call for violence and then they refuse to take any responsibility for it when their misinformed and mindless followers act on their commands, it's far passed time that not just Democrats but the people who care about a better and safer future, go on the offensive.
There have been 181 incidents of gun violence at schools since the events at Columbine. The assault weapons ban has expired thanks to a congress who is afraid of the NRA and their lobbyist and yet, the very first idiots out of the gate after any act of violence are the "guns don't kill people" crowd. I've heard all of the arguments and claims that the conservatives love to make and all of them are baseless and clueless.
"We don't blame the car or ban cars when a drunk driver kills an innocent person so why should we ban guns?" First of all, nobody is trying to ban all guns and if you believe anything to the contrary, you're just not very smart. Intelligent gun control is how society deals with these problems. I'll accept your car challenge. Let's place guns on equal terms with owning and operating a car. Driving is a privilege and not a right, a license is required to operate one, a minimum age is required, registration is required and if you violate the law while operating one, there are extreme consequences. Wouldn't it be a good idea to at least require the same standards for guns that we require for cars? And, when I speak of a license test, I'm not talking about the farce currently known as the concealed carry courses offered around the Country with some guy named Cletus or Jimmy Bob handing out the certificates. I personally know of a local church that had a concealed weapons class that is a shining example of this stupidity. One of the participants shot himself in the leg during the course and still passed it.
The second group out of the gate after these violent incidents is the "God isn't allowed in schools" crowd. Our religious culture has merged and become an arm of the republican party. Pat Robertson calling Obama a Muslim and a socialist, Franklin Graham calling Obama a sinner and deleting the reference to Mormonism being a cult from his website so that Christians would feel comfortable voting for Romney and who could ever forget the hit job from hell that took place every Sunday through Jerry Falwell? We have church members carrying weapons into church and believing that their real gods of Rush, Hannity , Beck and Capitalism have given them the right to use violence to overthrow the Government and any Democrat who crosses them. My question would be, is God everywhere or can he be blocked out by chalkboards? The argument of God being removed from schools is asinine at best. Students can bring bibles to school, they have rallies at the flag pole, they have religious clubs and Lord knows there is ample peer pressure in America to be a believer or risk eternal damnation. If kids can bring bibles to school and can pray there, how exactly has God been removed? Just because teachers do not force a certain version of religion upon their students, it doesn't mean that hell has erupted at school. These same folks would be angry beyond belief if a teacher was offering their views on Islam or encouraging their child to consider atheism. Religion and belief systems should be taught at home and shared at church. Church and State combined can only produce bastard and inbred results. What exactly is the prayer quota for keeping gun violence out of schools? Is 3 times a day good enough or is there another equation?
The NRA will send it's armies out in waves to try to debunk any relationship between guns and violence. We will also have political figures who will suggest making our schools into compounds with fences and body scanners. These folks will go to great lengths to distract from the real discussion that is needed in America. This argument isn't unlike the healthcare debate. If every other modern Nation on the planet knows how to provide quality healthcare to everyone and they also have much less gun violence, are we above learning from tried and true methods? Lies can only be carried so long in a right wing bucket before they begin to evaporate.
I, like many Liberal and Democrats, own guns and have my whole life. We are not trying to end gun ownership or to stop hunting or self defense but there comes a time, when the people become sufficiently pissed off and will demand change. Only certain people should own certain types of guns and some people shouldn't own any guns. The often quoted second amendment says "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. When this was written, the idea of a militia was relevant and there were no semi or fully automatic weapons as we know them today. Until we can have a discussion without the influence of big money and the NRA, we will continue on a downward spiral of violence and our kids will continue to pay for our sins of omission.
The Southern Donkey Blog
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