The United States of A-Massacre?
Guns, A follow-up
My recent commentary on guns in the wake of the recent shootings brought many responses; some angry, some thought provoking. Several who wrote thought I was attacking the Second Amendment. Others felt I was picking on the political right. One person, in response to the weekend mass murder in Tucson, stated, “He could have done the same thing with a stick of dynamite.” Many defended their right to carry a weapon, either concealed (with a proper permit) or not. The responses led me to do additional research that revealed the following data. I draw no conclusions, but report the data.
Definition: the term mass murder or massacre is defined as the taking the life of three or more people during the same incident.
Mark Kopta, a professor of Psychology at the University of Evansville, IN has studied mass murders. In a paper presented to the Midwestern Psychological Association in Chicago in 2009, he reported that between 1930 and 1970 a total of three mass murders were reported in America. Three more followed in the 1970s. The 1980s had a total of 10, the 1990s 17, and before the close of the first decade of the new millennium there had been more than 25 mass killings. Six occurred in 2008 and within the first four months of 2009 there had been eight.
I then Googled Mass Murders by year going back 20 years and discovered the following PARTIAL results:
1991: Austin TX, four killed, Killeen, TX 23 killed, 20 wounded.
1992: Olivehurst, CA, four killed, 9 wounded.
1993: Palatine, TX, seven killed. San Francisco, CA, 9 killed, 6 wounded.
1997: Jonesboro, AR, 5 killed, 11 wounded
1999: Ft. Worth, TX, 7 killed, 7 wounded, Honolulu, HI, 7 killed, 1 wounded, Atlanta, GA, 13 killed, Littleton, CO 15 killed, 26 wounded.
2000: Wakefield, MA, 7 killed, Wichita, KS, 5 killed.
2002: Washington DC Beltway area: 11 killed, six wounded.
2003: Meridian, MS, seven killed, eight wounded.
2004: Fresno, CA, nine killed, two wounded, McKinney, TX, five killed.
2005: Red Lake, MN, nine killed, Brookfield, WI, eight killed.
2006: Santa Barbara, CA, seven killed, Indianapolis, IN, seven killed
2007: Blacksburg, VA, 33 killed, Salt Lake City, UT, six killed, Amish School, PA, six killed.
2008: Henderson, KY, six killed, one wounded, Kirkwood, MO, seven killed, one wounded, Chicago, IL, 5 killed, one wounded, Covina, CA, 10 killed, three wounded, Omaha, NB, nine killed, four wounded, Dekalb, IL, five killed, 18 wounded
2009: Upstate, NY, 19 killed, Ft. Hood, TX, 13 killed, 30 wounded
2010: St. Louis, MO, four killed, five wounded, Appomattox, VA, eight killed, Manchester, CT: nine killed, two wounded, Kennesaw, GA, three killed, two wounded, Huntsville, AL, three killed, two wounded.
2011: Tucson, AZ: six killed, 14 wounded.
With the exception of six of the above who were stabbed to death, all others were shot.
Guns per capita: The following countries have fewer than ten guns per 100 people: Nigeria, China, India, Philippines, Iran, U.K., Columbia, Brazil, Ukraine, and Russia. Only three countries have more than 40 guns per 100 people. They are: Switzerland (46 guns per 100 people – the government supplies the weapons for their citizen militia), Yemen (61 guns per 100 people) and the United States which has 90 guns per 100 people!
There are about 82 people killed by guns in the U.S. every day and 547 people per day wounded. Only Mexico, Estonia, and Brazil have a higher firearm-related death rate than does the U.S.
The United States has had four presidents assassinated by guns (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy) two injured but not killed (Roosevelt and Reagan), and at least 20 known assassination attempts on sitting, former, or presidents elect. Our neighbors to the south have had two presidents assassinated (Abraham Gonzales in 1913 and Venustiano Carranza in 1920) and our neighbors to the north have never had a presidential assassination.
Guns have been part of America’s culture since the U.S. became a country. Militias of the early U.S. stood in lieu of a standing army. As the country’s population expanded westward guns were used to provide food, keep the peace, and settle disputes. But we are no longer under the direct threat of invasion from another country – at least not an invasion that would be repelled by handguns. And the only game-related shooting takes place while shooting the bull during shopping for dinner. Disputes are still sometimes settled with weapons, especially in poor inner-city ghettos, but as a rule the law settles disputes. Perhaps it is time to reexamine our gun culture to see whether or not changes need to be made.
Postscript: In my previous poston this topic I might have left the impression that political vitriol was somehow responsible for the shooting in Tucson. The converse of such a statement would suggest that if only vitriol were removed from politics, such incidents would not happen. Of course that is folly.
Showing posts with label Guns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guns. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Commentary on guns
An American Tragedy
The Gun Culture
Let me preface my diatribe today by saying that I was born and raised in the community in Western Pennsylvania that was the setting for the movie “The Deer Hunter.” During part of my youth my father was a police officer, so I am not unfamiliar with either the mentality of man’s need to hunt, as depicted in the movie, or the issue of having guns in one’s home. It is reported that nearly one-third of Americans own registered guns. In my youth I was among them. Because of a business and the daily receipts carried home after closing. I purchased a small .22 pistol for security. “Shooting parks” for gun owners exist throughout the country and most make a handsome profit as the result of the millions who patronize them. There is a time and a place for guns. I get it.
But somehow, as we so often do in our society, we have allowed gun ownership to become a right of every American regardless of race, creed, national origin, criminal history, or mental status. Proponents of guns cite the second amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, “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.”
The purpose of the constitutional amendment is rarely discussed when it is used as a club to support a political position. The Second Amendment was written because, having been oppressed by a professional army in the 1700s, the founding fathers of the United States had no use for establishing one of their own. Instead, they decided that an armed citizenry makes the best army of all. I daresay that no sane, rational American in the year 2011 believes that an armed citizenry would be called upon to fight an invading foreign enemy today. And oh yes, today we have our own Army…. and Navy…. and Air Force… and Marine Corps…. and Coast Guard…. and National Guard….. and Reserve units. So it is safe to say that the purpose for which the second amendment was established no longer exists.
Still, guns proliferate in our communities and are available to anybody willing to attend a gun show and purchase one, buy one legitimately at a gun store, or break into a house to steal one, can obtain one or more guns. The result is that so many innocent people have been victimized, their families shattered, and the lives of so many who become collateral damage and are changed forever. There have been hundreds, if not thousands of mass shooting incidents. Nearly a half century ago a young man named Charles Whitman locked himself in the tower at the University of Texas and began shooting people on the campus, killing 16 and injuring 32. More than a decade ago two students at Columbine High School in Colorado went on a killing spree, and nearly four years ago, Seung-hui Cho went on a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech University, killing 32 and wounding scores more. And of course, last Saturday, a gunman in Arizona shot 20 innocent victims, including a congresswoman, a federal judge, and a nine-year old girl, killing six. After each incident, and others too numerous to list, there is a short-term hue and cry but no changes to our gun culture or gun laws. In fact, after each such incident the opposition to gun regulation spends even more money to lobby harder to allow, if not encourage the gun culture to continue to proliferate.
The availability of guns is only one symptom to the disease that has infected our country. Hate talk and heated political rhetoric that foul the airwaves daily often imply that violence is not only acceptable, but is the answer to issues in our society. When our current president took office the point was made. The head of the National Rifle Association, a pro-gun lobbying group that pays tens of millions of dollars to politicians who vote in their favor stated, “The guys with the guns make the rules.”
During the most recent presidential election and participants in Congressional forums and Presidential debates made a point of carrying guns openly in public at the events. A candidate for office in my own state was quoted as saying that citizens unhappy with election results should consider exercising their “Second Amendment remedies.” During the most recent elections, a former vice-presidential candidate placed gun targets, cross-hairs, on those who she felt should be ousted from office. Sadly one of those cross-hair targets became prophetic when Congresswoman Giffords was murdered in Arizona Saturday.
From Washington we have heard eloquence from our political leaders that offered prayers and condolences. We’ve heard them express shock and horror at the loss of innocent lives. We heard a moment of silence and the cancellation of all work in the House of Representatives to commemorate the loss of one of their own. We’ve heard nothing about hate speech, a gun culture, or the ease of obtaining them.
The guns used by Cho at Virginia Tech, and the alleged shooter in Arizona are said to be Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistols, a type of rapid-fire weapon available only to police in virtually every other country except the U.S. Here they can be legally purchased in thousands of gun shops, gun shows, and other venues. It is estimated that there are more guns in America than there are Americans!
The alleged shooter in Arizona does not typify political discord any more than the shooter at Virginia Tech typified college students on that campus, or the shooters at the University of Texas and Columbine High School and the many, many other shooting tragedies typified mainstream America. But the ease with which they were able to secure the guns that are literally “weapons of mass destruction,” and the impunity with which they used those weapons must be addressed. But how? My suggestion follows:
Every politician who has ever run against an incumbent has done so with the promise of change. I suggest we use that model and adopt the slogan, “Change the gun laws, change the hate culture.”
The gun laws: We must first examine legitimate reasons for having guns; handguns for target shooting and protection - long guns for target shooting and hunting. Any weapon is not designed to those activities must be banned except for law enforcement. Just is a 9mm Glock rapid fire with clips that can shoot dozens of bullets in a fraction of a second are not needed for target shooting or protection, neither are Uzis or assault rifles needed to bring down game.
The hate culture: I’m not so sure this one can be legislated. Just as morality or, for that matter, stupidity, cannot be legislated, neither can a “kinder, gentler America.” That task falls to the people of America. I’ve lived through eras during which Americans cared for their fellow man instead of spewing hate at those who would think, act, or talk differently, so I know it can be done. But I leave the “how” to those who are smarter and more energetic than I.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Guns Don't Kill People???
A Drop of Ink Can Make a Million Think
Where Have All the Weapons Gone: Much has been written lately about guns. The National Rifle Association continues to scare people to be in fear of their lives from bad guys and from their own government and they’ve continued to do it successfully. We simply cannot understand their logic. A person who was in a restaurant when a shooter came in said had she had her gun the shootings would have stopped. Ever thought of the chances you will be confronted by a gunman and have the opportunity to defend yourself without getting injured, maimed, or killed? Astronomical. Here are a few thoughts on guns:
Since out troops have been in Iraq, about eight years, there have been more than 4,000 soldiers killed. Back home gun violence has taken about 240,000 lives during the same eight year period. In the past month the following headlines have been banners:
3/10/09: A CRAZED gunman killed 11 people then himself as he went on a shooting spree in two towns at night. Cops in Alabama found the body of the killer’s girlfriend in his burnt out home.
Two of the dead found earlier were a cop’s wife and child
3/20/09: Spartanburg, South Carolina - Police are still looking for suspects in a shooting that killed a teen-ager and wounded three women late Friday night in Spartanburg’s Collins Parks Community, a police spokesman said.
3/21/09: Oakland, California - At least three police officers in Oakland, California, were shot and killed Saturday afternoon after a man pulled over for a routine traffic stop opened fire and then battled SWAT officers at a nearby building, police said. A fourth died later.
3/28/09: Carthage, North Carolina - North Carolina police are investigating whether the man accused of killing eight people in a nursing home shooting spree may have targeted the home because his estranged wife worked there, according to The Associated Press.
3/29/09: Dorchester, MA - The gunman who opened fire on a car on a Dorchester street early Sunday, killing three of four passengers inside, may have been smarting after getting spurned by one of his victims who had just left a late-night party, a police source said.
3/30/09: COMPTON, California — Homicide detectives Monday were investigating the fatal shootings of two men and a woman in an apartment. Neighbors contacted authorities after hearing gunshots in the apartment about 7:15 p.m. Sunday, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Oscar Butao.
4/3/09: Binghamton, New York - A gunman killed 13 people at an immigrant counseling centre where many of his victims were studying to become US citizens. The carnage at the American Civic Association, a language and help centre for immigrants settled in New York state, had all the hallmarks of being premeditated.
4/4/09: PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and “lying in wait” opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call Saturday, killing three of them and turning a quiet Pittsburgh street into a battlefield, police said.
4/7/09: TEMECULA, California — A gunman opened fire at a Korean Christian retreat center on Tuesday night, killing one and wounding three others, authorities said.
4/16/09: LONG BEACH, Calif. – A hospital worker shot and killed two employees and then killed himself at a medical center Thursday, sending panicked people fleeing, police and witnesses said. The gunman was identified as Mario Ramirez, 50, of Alhambra, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
TOTAL MASS MURDERS FOR MONTH: Nearly 50 dead including 8 police officers and dozens injured. But every victim leaves family, loved ones, friends, children, parents, etc. so the total number of victims is in the hundreds. Pretty sad, huh? But wait, there’s more - oftentimes those who kill with guns, especially if they kill loved ones, are cowardly enough to take their own life. In the past month, in addition to the above...
3/28/09: Firestone, Colorado - A suspected murder-suicide left three people dead early Saturday morning in a Firestone subdivision.
3/29/08: Santa Clara, California - Police found was one of the worst shooting scenes in Santa Clara history: six bodies were scattered around the three-story townhome, four were dead, including a42-year-old man whom police suspect was the shooter. Two handguns were found nearby. Paramedics performed CPR on a 4-year-old girl, but she too died at the scene.
4/4/09: Miami Lakes, Florida - The Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce is mourning the violent and disturbing death of its president, David Waud. According to media reports, police said Waud shot his wife, Carol Waud, and himself on Saturday in their Hialeah home.
4/5/09: GRAHAM, Wash. – A father apparently shot to death five of his children, ages 7 to 16, at their mobile home and then killed himself near a casino miles away, police said Saturday. Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff, called it a domestic violence situation and a murder-suicide.
4/5/09: West Kendall, FL - Jose and Nolvia Salazar lived quiet lives in their shady West Kendall neighborhood. The silence was shattered early Sunday when the couple and Nolvia Salazar’s daughter, Karla Valle, 27, were found shot dead in a scene that Miami-Dade police called “domestic in nature.”
4/5/09: Casselberry, Florida - Marie Moore, a 44-year-old woman from Florida, has fatally shot and killed her 20-year-old son before killing herself at a shooting range. Marie Moore and her son Mitchell Moore were at central Florida gun range ‘Shoot Straight’ Sunday sharing a firing when Marie killed her and then herself.
4/7/09: Green Hill, Alabama - A man facing a divorce trial shot and killed his estranged wife, their teenage daughter and two other relatives in rural north Alabama before returning to his home in a nearby town and killing himself, authorities said Tuesday.
4/9/09: Roanoke, Indiana - The couple found dead in their Roanoke mobile home Thursday died in a homicide-suicide, presumably from a domestic dispute that turned violent, according to the Huntington County coroner. Investigators concluded that 26-year-old Jeremy Stroh shot his girlfriend, 25-year-old Nicole Scheiber, multiple times inside their home at Castle Hill Mobile Home Park then turned the gun on himself.
4/9/09: Tucson, Arizona - A divorced couple who still lived together ended up dying together Thursday night in an apparent homicide-suicide, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman said. Ana Delia Rios, 44, and her ex-husband, Martin Rios Gonzales, 44, were found shot to death in their Southwest Side home about 10:30 p.m., Deputy Dawn Barkman said.
4/10/10: DEARBORN, Mich. - Two people were killed at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn Friday afternoon in what police are calling a murder-suicide. Deputy Police Chief Gregg Brighton said Henry Ford Community College was locked down in the early afternoon, but the campus has since been secured and the lockdown was lifted.
4/11/09: Dallas, Texas - A man and a woman were found fatally shot inside a Frisco home late Saturday, hours after a police tactical team responded to a report that a man with a gun was inside the home. Their names were not released, pending notification of relatives.
4/12/09: COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Police say the weekend shooting deaths of a man and woman in a central Colorado Springs home were the result of an apparent attempted murder-suicide. Colorado Springs police Sgt. Steve Noblitt on Monday said the two had been identified as 38-year-old Fidencio Ordaz Gonzalez and 36-year-old Paula Ordaz, both of Colorado Springs.
The above headlines represent just a smattering of the total carnage. We are killing each other in America with our guns at a rate of about 2,500 Americans per month, or about 85 each day. Perhaps it is time to rethink the NRA’s position.
A little blogging music Maestro… an oldie from the Brenda Lee, “Tragedy”
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Where Have All the Weapons Gone: Much has been written lately about guns. The National Rifle Association continues to scare people to be in fear of their lives from bad guys and from their own government and they’ve continued to do it successfully. We simply cannot understand their logic. A person who was in a restaurant when a shooter came in said had she had her gun the shootings would have stopped. Ever thought of the chances you will be confronted by a gunman and have the opportunity to defend yourself without getting injured, maimed, or killed? Astronomical. Here are a few thoughts on guns:
Since out troops have been in Iraq, about eight years, there have been more than 4,000 soldiers killed. Back home gun violence has taken about 240,000 lives during the same eight year period. In the past month the following headlines have been banners:
3/10/09: A CRAZED gunman killed 11 people then himself as he went on a shooting spree in two towns at night. Cops in Alabama found the body of the killer’s girlfriend in his burnt out home.
Two of the dead found earlier were a cop’s wife and child
3/20/09: Spartanburg, South Carolina - Police are still looking for suspects in a shooting that killed a teen-ager and wounded three women late Friday night in Spartanburg’s Collins Parks Community, a police spokesman said.
3/21/09: Oakland, California - At least three police officers in Oakland, California, were shot and killed Saturday afternoon after a man pulled over for a routine traffic stop opened fire and then battled SWAT officers at a nearby building, police said. A fourth died later.
3/28/09: Carthage, North Carolina - North Carolina police are investigating whether the man accused of killing eight people in a nursing home shooting spree may have targeted the home because his estranged wife worked there, according to The Associated Press.
3/29/09: Dorchester, MA - The gunman who opened fire on a car on a Dorchester street early Sunday, killing three of four passengers inside, may have been smarting after getting spurned by one of his victims who had just left a late-night party, a police source said.
3/30/09: COMPTON, California — Homicide detectives Monday were investigating the fatal shootings of two men and a woman in an apartment. Neighbors contacted authorities after hearing gunshots in the apartment about 7:15 p.m. Sunday, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Oscar Butao.
4/3/09: Binghamton, New York - A gunman killed 13 people at an immigrant counseling centre where many of his victims were studying to become US citizens. The carnage at the American Civic Association, a language and help centre for immigrants settled in New York state, had all the hallmarks of being premeditated.
4/4/09: PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and “lying in wait” opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call Saturday, killing three of them and turning a quiet Pittsburgh street into a battlefield, police said.
4/7/09: TEMECULA, California — A gunman opened fire at a Korean Christian retreat center on Tuesday night, killing one and wounding three others, authorities said.
4/16/09: LONG BEACH, Calif. – A hospital worker shot and killed two employees and then killed himself at a medical center Thursday, sending panicked people fleeing, police and witnesses said. The gunman was identified as Mario Ramirez, 50, of Alhambra, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
TOTAL MASS MURDERS FOR MONTH: Nearly 50 dead including 8 police officers and dozens injured. But every victim leaves family, loved ones, friends, children, parents, etc. so the total number of victims is in the hundreds. Pretty sad, huh? But wait, there’s more - oftentimes those who kill with guns, especially if they kill loved ones, are cowardly enough to take their own life. In the past month, in addition to the above...
3/28/09: Firestone, Colorado - A suspected murder-suicide left three people dead early Saturday morning in a Firestone subdivision.
3/29/08: Santa Clara, California - Police found was one of the worst shooting scenes in Santa Clara history: six bodies were scattered around the three-story townhome, four were dead, including a42-year-old man whom police suspect was the shooter. Two handguns were found nearby. Paramedics performed CPR on a 4-year-old girl, but she too died at the scene.
4/4/09: Miami Lakes, Florida - The Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce is mourning the violent and disturbing death of its president, David Waud. According to media reports, police said Waud shot his wife, Carol Waud, and himself on Saturday in their Hialeah home.
4/5/09: GRAHAM, Wash. – A father apparently shot to death five of his children, ages 7 to 16, at their mobile home and then killed himself near a casino miles away, police said Saturday. Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff, called it a domestic violence situation and a murder-suicide.
4/5/09: West Kendall, FL - Jose and Nolvia Salazar lived quiet lives in their shady West Kendall neighborhood. The silence was shattered early Sunday when the couple and Nolvia Salazar’s daughter, Karla Valle, 27, were found shot dead in a scene that Miami-Dade police called “domestic in nature.”
4/5/09: Casselberry, Florida - Marie Moore, a 44-year-old woman from Florida, has fatally shot and killed her 20-year-old son before killing herself at a shooting range. Marie Moore and her son Mitchell Moore were at central Florida gun range ‘Shoot Straight’ Sunday sharing a firing when Marie killed her and then herself.
4/7/09: Green Hill, Alabama - A man facing a divorce trial shot and killed his estranged wife, their teenage daughter and two other relatives in rural north Alabama before returning to his home in a nearby town and killing himself, authorities said Tuesday.
4/9/09: Roanoke, Indiana - The couple found dead in their Roanoke mobile home Thursday died in a homicide-suicide, presumably from a domestic dispute that turned violent, according to the Huntington County coroner. Investigators concluded that 26-year-old Jeremy Stroh shot his girlfriend, 25-year-old Nicole Scheiber, multiple times inside their home at Castle Hill Mobile Home Park then turned the gun on himself.
4/9/09: Tucson, Arizona - A divorced couple who still lived together ended up dying together Thursday night in an apparent homicide-suicide, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman said. Ana Delia Rios, 44, and her ex-husband, Martin Rios Gonzales, 44, were found shot to death in their Southwest Side home about 10:30 p.m., Deputy Dawn Barkman said.
4/10/10: DEARBORN, Mich. - Two people were killed at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn Friday afternoon in what police are calling a murder-suicide. Deputy Police Chief Gregg Brighton said Henry Ford Community College was locked down in the early afternoon, but the campus has since been secured and the lockdown was lifted.
4/11/09: Dallas, Texas - A man and a woman were found fatally shot inside a Frisco home late Saturday, hours after a police tactical team responded to a report that a man with a gun was inside the home. Their names were not released, pending notification of relatives.
4/12/09: COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Police say the weekend shooting deaths of a man and woman in a central Colorado Springs home were the result of an apparent attempted murder-suicide. Colorado Springs police Sgt. Steve Noblitt on Monday said the two had been identified as 38-year-old Fidencio Ordaz Gonzalez and 36-year-old Paula Ordaz, both of Colorado Springs.
The above headlines represent just a smattering of the total carnage. We are killing each other in America with our guns at a rate of about 2,500 Americans per month, or about 85 each day. Perhaps it is time to rethink the NRA’s position.
A little blogging music Maestro… an oldie from the Brenda Lee, “Tragedy”
Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
When Guns Are Outlawed...
No Guns, just Roses
My Dear Friend and Brother, Emi: I have a good friend who is more like a brother, as I’m an honorary uncle to his sons, but that’s another story. Emi and I often have differing views. He thinks I’m a raving mad liberal and I don’t want to say he’s a staunch anti communist, but he probably believes O’Reilly sits too far to the left. Among our many topics for discussion is the proliferation of guns in our American society. Now I’m not too bright about some things and do not purport to be a scholar of the constitution, although I’ve heard enough squeals of “Second Amendment” each time a gun advocate’s trigger finger is threatened. But gun arguments on both sides have become so convoluted that I simply feel the need to inject some common sense into the argument.
When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns: The image of a frail wannabe Moses holding a flintlock rifle in the air and proclaiming in his stentorian voice, “I’ll give them my gun when they pry it from my cold dead hands.” Makes for great theater but makes little sense. The second amendment was written as part of the Bill of Rights, (can you tell me what the first, third, fifth, or other amendments say?) and 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.” The fear at the time was that the U.S. government might overthrow the people and if the people kept guns that would prevent such a possibility.
What the founding fathers did not have: The right to keep and bear arms in those days meant flintlock rifles and pistols that shot little iron balls. That’s all the government had too, except for cannons that shot big iron balls. The citizens with little iron balls outnumbered the government with their big iron balls so it made sense to keep and bear arms. Besides, the long guns were needed to shoot game, which was plentiful in the neighborhoods, not the zoos. Fast forward a couple of hundred years and weaponry has become more sophisticated. The only thing one shoots for dinner is the bull while shopping at the local super market and purchasing portions of a cow, pig, chicken or lamb to cook for dinner. The little pop guns that most garden variety crooks, cops, and weekend warriors carry are no match for the sophisticated weaponry owned by the federal government.
My nephew-in-law in the Navy: My cousin Steve has three adult daughters, one of whom married a Navy man and submariner. He was aboard, but not above board his sub the USS Illkickyourass floating under water in the Middle East. The Iraq war was going strong and our troops were looking for Saddam and his lovely family, the boy sadists. Intelligence got a lead on where Udau and Qusay were hanging out. The information was sent to the sub on which my son-in-law served and on that warm July day a designated sailor pushed a button that opened a hatch that allowed a missile to pass that flew through the air that blew up the house that Saddam built for his boys. Oh yes, the boys were in it probably torturing a few soccer players who had lost a game. Anyhow, Poof! There goes civilization from hundreds of miles away.
Popguns vs. guided missiles: The days when citizen posses kept their guns to ward off the threat of government takeover went out with powdered wigs and wooden teeth. Scratch that argument. So how about the good guys vs. the bad. Every once in a while a homeowner shoots a burglar. Yea for our side. But in fact, a resident is 43 times more likely to be killed by a gun than to shoot a burglar. Worse, every once in a while a toddler gets hold of that gun meant to dissuade intruders and shoots his little brother dead. More often, the homebodies are at a concert or movie when the homeboys break in and steal those guns, sell them to their fellow homies who shoot, rob, pillage, and kill each other with them with occasional collateral damage done to innocent bystanders during drive-by shootings. Those are some of the reasons guns in the home don’t make sense to me. And I haven’t even started on the need for assault weapons. For what? Other than to clutch as a phallic symbol and give one a false sense of safety or a feeling of power, I can’t for the life of me understand the need for such weapons.
Taking a life – the consequences: I know many men and a few women who, with bravado, tell how they would shoot or threaten to shoot a criminal if they held a gun during a robbery. A current email is running rampant that tells of a “White boy in Savannah” who was with his girlfriend and threatened by a knife wielding ghetto mugger who wanted his Burberry jacket. Get real. No self respecting ghetto kid would wear a Burburry, but even that begs the point of the racist email. I have a friend who is a counselor and she has worked with people who have taken a life – people from soldiers to police officers, to folks protecting their property. She tells me that most never get over it.
Squeeze your honey, not a trigger: So all you right wing defenders of the Second Amendment, fear not. I do not want to change the constitution even though I think that amendment is now silly since its initial purpose no longer makes sense. If you want to own a handgun, a bb gun, a son-of-a-gun or a water pistol, you are setting yourself up for more harm than good, but I do not think there oughta be a law to ban them. This post will likely not have changed one person’s mind. Certainly not mine. I just don’t understand the irrational fear that drives otherwise apparently sane people to make their home a fortress.
A little blogging music Maestro: The country and western classic, “If I had Shot You When I wanted to I’d be Out by Now.”
Dr forgot
http://drforgot.com
My Dear Friend and Brother, Emi: I have a good friend who is more like a brother, as I’m an honorary uncle to his sons, but that’s another story. Emi and I often have differing views. He thinks I’m a raving mad liberal and I don’t want to say he’s a staunch anti communist, but he probably believes O’Reilly sits too far to the left. Among our many topics for discussion is the proliferation of guns in our American society. Now I’m not too bright about some things and do not purport to be a scholar of the constitution, although I’ve heard enough squeals of “Second Amendment” each time a gun advocate’s trigger finger is threatened. But gun arguments on both sides have become so convoluted that I simply feel the need to inject some common sense into the argument.
When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns: The image of a frail wannabe Moses holding a flintlock rifle in the air and proclaiming in his stentorian voice, “I’ll give them my gun when they pry it from my cold dead hands.” Makes for great theater but makes little sense. The second amendment was written as part of the Bill of Rights, (can you tell me what the first, third, fifth, or other amendments say?) and 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.” The fear at the time was that the U.S. government might overthrow the people and if the people kept guns that would prevent such a possibility.
What the founding fathers did not have: The right to keep and bear arms in those days meant flintlock rifles and pistols that shot little iron balls. That’s all the government had too, except for cannons that shot big iron balls. The citizens with little iron balls outnumbered the government with their big iron balls so it made sense to keep and bear arms. Besides, the long guns were needed to shoot game, which was plentiful in the neighborhoods, not the zoos. Fast forward a couple of hundred years and weaponry has become more sophisticated. The only thing one shoots for dinner is the bull while shopping at the local super market and purchasing portions of a cow, pig, chicken or lamb to cook for dinner. The little pop guns that most garden variety crooks, cops, and weekend warriors carry are no match for the sophisticated weaponry owned by the federal government.
My nephew-in-law in the Navy: My cousin Steve has three adult daughters, one of whom married a Navy man and submariner. He was aboard, but not above board his sub the USS Illkickyourass floating under water in the Middle East. The Iraq war was going strong and our troops were looking for Saddam and his lovely family, the boy sadists. Intelligence got a lead on where Udau and Qusay were hanging out. The information was sent to the sub on which my son-in-law served and on that warm July day a designated sailor pushed a button that opened a hatch that allowed a missile to pass that flew through the air that blew up the house that Saddam built for his boys. Oh yes, the boys were in it probably torturing a few soccer players who had lost a game. Anyhow, Poof! There goes civilization from hundreds of miles away.
Popguns vs. guided missiles: The days when citizen posses kept their guns to ward off the threat of government takeover went out with powdered wigs and wooden teeth. Scratch that argument. So how about the good guys vs. the bad. Every once in a while a homeowner shoots a burglar. Yea for our side. But in fact, a resident is 43 times more likely to be killed by a gun than to shoot a burglar. Worse, every once in a while a toddler gets hold of that gun meant to dissuade intruders and shoots his little brother dead. More often, the homebodies are at a concert or movie when the homeboys break in and steal those guns, sell them to their fellow homies who shoot, rob, pillage, and kill each other with them with occasional collateral damage done to innocent bystanders during drive-by shootings. Those are some of the reasons guns in the home don’t make sense to me. And I haven’t even started on the need for assault weapons. For what? Other than to clutch as a phallic symbol and give one a false sense of safety or a feeling of power, I can’t for the life of me understand the need for such weapons.
Taking a life – the consequences: I know many men and a few women who, with bravado, tell how they would shoot or threaten to shoot a criminal if they held a gun during a robbery. A current email is running rampant that tells of a “White boy in Savannah” who was with his girlfriend and threatened by a knife wielding ghetto mugger who wanted his Burberry jacket. Get real. No self respecting ghetto kid would wear a Burburry, but even that begs the point of the racist email. I have a friend who is a counselor and she has worked with people who have taken a life – people from soldiers to police officers, to folks protecting their property. She tells me that most never get over it.
Squeeze your honey, not a trigger: So all you right wing defenders of the Second Amendment, fear not. I do not want to change the constitution even though I think that amendment is now silly since its initial purpose no longer makes sense. If you want to own a handgun, a bb gun, a son-of-a-gun or a water pistol, you are setting yourself up for more harm than good, but I do not think there oughta be a law to ban them. This post will likely not have changed one person’s mind. Certainly not mine. I just don’t understand the irrational fear that drives otherwise apparently sane people to make their home a fortress.
A little blogging music Maestro: The country and western classic, “If I had Shot You When I wanted to I’d be Out by Now.”
Dr forgot
http://drforgot.com
Monday, March 24, 2008
Monday, Monday
A Leading Authority Has Guessed Right Once
Bang, Bang... Whoops: From the “Post- 9/11 Genius Ideas” department comes the one from Usless Air – er, U.S. Airways. Seems that the panic driven rule that allows pilots to carry guns onboard planes, uh, backfired when a gun went off in the cockpit of a plane. The U.S. Airways flight was bound from Denver to Charlotte and had 124 passengers on board. Nobody was injured except for the pride of the pistol packing pilot. Officials say it was a full flight but full of what? We’ve not yet heard from the NRA but I’m sure the response will be something like, “Pilots don’t blow out windows in airplanes, guns do.”
Tums and Rolaids won’t fix this gas problem: Pain at the pump can be felt throughout the U.S. A few weeks ago I was in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla and the Union 76 station on the main drag posted full service premium gas at $ 4.99 per gallon. Was that a gouge or harbinger of things to come? Average gas prices this weekend topped $ 3.40 per gallon in some states. Tipsters tell us how to ease the pain: stay away from stations in ritzy hoods, avoid stations that are also repair shops or car washes, buy Wednesday morning and use wholesale club gas pumps. Oh, and how about driving less?
Sounds like, “I am not a crook”: Kwame Kilpatrick, that lover-boy mayor of Motown insists he will be exonerated. He and an aide were charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say that sexually explicit text messages between the two may have been sugar sweet but lying about them in sworn testimony was perjury. Poor Kwame. All around him are people who spew hate and they do not get into trouble. But try a little loving and BAM! Your career is in jeopardy. Perhaps he can get an attorney referral or seek advice about how to handle the situation from Eliot Spitzer.
Sad day in Paradise: Few things are sadder than the loss of a loved one. Over the weekend the Paradise Animal Hospital in Las Vegas burned. The fire was so intense that rescuers were unable to save a single pet during the midnight inferno. One can only imagine the grief of pet owners whose pets were recovering from illnesses or being boarded during the holiday weekend. Everything was destroyed but if the owners are able to reconstruct their client list they should send each owner a letter of sympathy and include perhaps a gift certificate from the animal shelter and a gift card for future services.
Rrrrr-eeee-bbbb-eelllsss: The chant of the UNLV athletic teams was born during the Harvey Hyde football days. It has since been adopted by nearly every other UNLV sport and was heart during the March Madness tournament. Hats off to a ragtag group that the national media continually referred to as “Two walk-ons and a former air conditioner repairman.” Hats off to Coach Lon Kruger as well for bringing out the teams character rather than having to clean up after a bunch of characters.
A little blogging music Maestro… From the Rebel fight song, “U-N-L-V, UNLV Go Fight Win.”
Dr. Forgot
Bang, Bang... Whoops: From the “Post- 9/11 Genius Ideas” department comes the one from Usless Air – er, U.S. Airways. Seems that the panic driven rule that allows pilots to carry guns onboard planes, uh, backfired when a gun went off in the cockpit of a plane. The U.S. Airways flight was bound from Denver to Charlotte and had 124 passengers on board. Nobody was injured except for the pride of the pistol packing pilot. Officials say it was a full flight but full of what? We’ve not yet heard from the NRA but I’m sure the response will be something like, “Pilots don’t blow out windows in airplanes, guns do.”
Tums and Rolaids won’t fix this gas problem: Pain at the pump can be felt throughout the U.S. A few weeks ago I was in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla and the Union 76 station on the main drag posted full service premium gas at $ 4.99 per gallon. Was that a gouge or harbinger of things to come? Average gas prices this weekend topped $ 3.40 per gallon in some states. Tipsters tell us how to ease the pain: stay away from stations in ritzy hoods, avoid stations that are also repair shops or car washes, buy Wednesday morning and use wholesale club gas pumps. Oh, and how about driving less?
Sounds like, “I am not a crook”: Kwame Kilpatrick, that lover-boy mayor of Motown insists he will be exonerated. He and an aide were charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say that sexually explicit text messages between the two may have been sugar sweet but lying about them in sworn testimony was perjury. Poor Kwame. All around him are people who spew hate and they do not get into trouble. But try a little loving and BAM! Your career is in jeopardy. Perhaps he can get an attorney referral or seek advice about how to handle the situation from Eliot Spitzer.
Sad day in Paradise: Few things are sadder than the loss of a loved one. Over the weekend the Paradise Animal Hospital in Las Vegas burned. The fire was so intense that rescuers were unable to save a single pet during the midnight inferno. One can only imagine the grief of pet owners whose pets were recovering from illnesses or being boarded during the holiday weekend. Everything was destroyed but if the owners are able to reconstruct their client list they should send each owner a letter of sympathy and include perhaps a gift certificate from the animal shelter and a gift card for future services.
Rrrrr-eeee-bbbb-eelllsss: The chant of the UNLV athletic teams was born during the Harvey Hyde football days. It has since been adopted by nearly every other UNLV sport and was heart during the March Madness tournament. Hats off to a ragtag group that the national media continually referred to as “Two walk-ons and a former air conditioner repairman.” Hats off to Coach Lon Kruger as well for bringing out the teams character rather than having to clean up after a bunch of characters.
A little blogging music Maestro… From the Rebel fight song, “U-N-L-V, UNLV Go Fight Win.”
Dr. Forgot
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