I try to be as politically tame as possible - in life and on this blog. I get easily frustrated talking about politics with anyone because it never ends well, seems endless, and usually nothing is solved. I really believe politics and our system of governing is flawed - too much time (and money) is spent on issues that aren't really important (steroids in baseball anyone?) or on trying to counter something the other party did (like the Republicans trying to "fix" the Obamacare bill). Nothing can ever really get done because there is so much back and forth. That's what I believe anyway.
So naturally, I've avoided saying anything about anything. I think now I have to, and it's the one thing I really believe: We should ban firearms. This awful Gabrielle Giffords tragedy that happened over the weekend is fueling my commentary for this. We're still learning all of the details (as well as hoping the representative survives) but I read something today from The Washington Post that really got me heated:
"Nov. 30: Jared Loughner purchases a 9mm Glock semiautomatic handgun at Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson. He passes the federal background check instantly."
He passed the federal background check instantly? Good. Great. Did we give him a psychological background check? Clearly that is what was needed, as he's completely unstable.
I know the right to bear arms has been a hot topic politically since our country was founded, I know the NRA is the highest grossing organization in the country, and their clout (politically and in the general public) will always be a part of our country. It's almost like the NRA is their own political party.
I know the NRA has their stats and quotes about how every man has a right to bear arms and to take away that right is illegal or whatever, but I think we need to ban guns from the public. Seriously. When we founded our country, our citizens (I think/believe/hope) were a little more morally upstanding individuals, and we truly had someone to fight (the redcoats, the north/south, etc).
Now, we're just fighting each other. A supposed "United" States and we're killing each other with guns more than any other country. And I think our mental/moral ability has gone very downhill since then. There are too many influences who can warp the minds of impressionable and mentally unstable people into believing causes - like assassinating someone - to allow guns to be this easy to get.
And it's not even assassinating someone like a celebrity or political figure. Look at the Virgina Tech and Columbine massacres. Why are we allowing these people the right to bear arms? It puts people who don't want to bear arms in danger because they are subjected to another person's way of life without wanting to live that way. The victims of Saturday just wanted to say hello to their local congressman, and instead they lost their lives. That doesn't seem fair just because one idiot had a bad day. We also let these shooters get away with trying to sympathize "oh s/he is bipolar" "oh s/he is a schizophrenic" "s/he was troubled".
I know the first response to banning guns - you can never really ban guns, the same way you cannot ban illegal drugs or anything really. They will still be smuggled and distributed, but it'll be more controlled, because clearly our current method of "control" doesn't account for the mental incapability of the people applying for weapons. Maybe a less alternative extreme is to require a more thorough background check, including some kind of a morality/mental test. Sounds stupid and would probably end up making no difference, but I'm just bringing random ideas now.
Think of all of the violence that goes on. Watch the local evening news and it's all about murders and shootings. "If It Bleeds, It Leads" is so true. I'd like to think we could find better stories than about shootings and death, but we can't. Maybe if we banned guns, we'd have less shootings, less murders. Some of the shootings that stood out in my mind were over such stupid things; Nike sneakers, Xboxes, someone was shot for their music being too loud, driving like an asshole, etc. ARE WE REALLY SHOOTING EACH OTHER OVER AN XBOX? THE GUN PROBABLY COSTS MORE THAN AN XBOX.
It sickens me to think that this stuff actually happens, when it seems SO unnecessary. WHY do we let this happen?
Another argument I'm sure to hear is the "self protection" or "hunting" angles. Okay, if you need to have self protection, invest in a security system for your house/apartment. How many times have you ever felt like you truly needed to "protect yourself" ? Maybe this is just the rich white suburban boy in me, but I've never felt like my life was in jeopardy except when I was almost in a car accident. Guns wouldn't of solved that one. I'm not sure how they would either. We hear far too many tragedies and accidents from gun violence than we hear about how a gun saved someone's life. And if we're talking about hunting animals, can't we use less powerful weapons to catch our deer?
I know we'll never actually ban guns, as it would be debated/fought over and over again in Congress the way this Obamacare bill is. In my dream world however, we'd be without guns, so we can avoid all of these awful tragedies that have plagued our nation. It'd be nice if we came to realization that we're doing more harm than good by allowing these weapons for practically anyone to attain.
If you're going to comment, don't expect much response from me, because like I said, I hate talking politics.
We've got a lot of work to do in this country.
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