Timely Tirade
Look at me! I’m getting an early start on my next post. I’m not feeling well. I think it’s the flu. Whatever it is, it’s sapping my energy.
Getting an early start on the post seemed prudent; I don’t know for how long I may be bedridden. It just feels like it’s heading in that direction.
The news is getting me down, so I’m limiting my exposure while trying to balance that with being “informed.” I’m sick of the gun culture in this country. Whatever the founders intended with the Second Amendment and a well-regulated militia, I’m certain the current state of affairs wasn’t it.
I mean, c’mon! “Well-regulated…” it’s right there in the fucking wording!
…
Picking up on this a few days later. A few tragic days later. Yet another mass killing, this time at an upscale mall in Texas. Texas…don’t get me started.
I have good friends in Texas. Not everyone there is a gun-loving psychopath, but this idea that an armed society is a polite society is flawed out of the gate. The news is proof.
Gun advocates claim there are not enough guns in enough places. When I started my own research into this, it was hard to find unbiased sources.
The FBI says one thing, then the NRA comes along to say the FBI is underreporting crimes deterred by armed citizens.
Check sources and their agendas.
Y’know.
Fuck it.
I’m not going to waste my breath here justifying one position over another. I still believe in the power of the vote. That’s where I’ll state my case.
I only know that I’m exhausted from the news that we’re on track to break the record for mass killings in this country. What other nations have similar per capita numbers?
NONE.
What is the difference?
GUNS.
Or rather, lack thereof.
And I know it’s not just about that. There’s a mental health component to it as well. There’s the argument that crazies will find a way to kill regardless.
Maybe so.
But the tools used determine the effectiveness of a rampage. Say someone is triggered to commit an act of mass violence.
The perpetrator has two options, and AR-15 or a machete.
Which do you think will result in more deaths, all else being equal, like crowd density and law enforcement response?
The weapon of distance has the overwhelming advantage. It’s much easier to kill with the rifle.
Take away the rifle, you have on the mentally ill perpetrator left with…what?
A knife?
A machete?
I can think of only one weapon that may be more effective, and that’s a vehicle. But even a vehicle is limited in where such an attack could occur.
A vehicle couldn’t easily be driven inside a mall or stadium or other venue.
I’m not saying take away all guns. A similar attack with a pistol or lever or bolt-action rifle would not be as effective as a semi-automatic AR-15.
There is no reason for the average citizen to own an assault rifle.
Have a rifle or shotgun for hunting. Hell, have a pistol for home defense.
Leave playing ARMY to the Army and a well-regulated militia, each state’s National Guard.
And there’s the obvious argument: a musket was the weapon of choice when the second amendment was ratified. I don’t think it would have similarly structured, let alone ratified, with the assortment of weapons available today.
Oh, but what about the black market?!
Sure, that will be the wild card, but I don’t think many of the mass shooters who obtained their weapons legally would have resorted to the black market.
Other countries have black markets. Other countries have violent mentally ill populations. What other countries come even close to our record of mass killings?
As for the mental illness factor, I like what a friend of mine in the Czech Republic said they do in her country: psychological evaluations for ANYONE before they can purchase a firearm.
I know that would never fly in the United States, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea.
The answers are out there, but doing nothing in the wake of these events is bullshit.
If not now, when?
OK, so maybe I did spend my time making my case. Hey, it’s my time!
…
Deep breaths…
Serenity now!
