I'm reposting this one because we have had another mass shooting. I agree with the father of one of the victims. When will it stop? When will we have the will to do something? He doesn't want any other parent to go through what he is going through. It has to stop. We have to do whatever it takes to make it stop. No more Sandy Hooks, Virginia Techs, Columbines. No more crazy guys with lots of guns and ammo. No more. None.
The picture above is of the glasses John Lennon was wearing the night he was shot to death. The number at the top is stunning. Over a million. Not all of them murdered but all killed in some manner by a gun. In comparison it is slightly more than the entire population of San Jose,California. Everyone in San Jose. Every man, every woman, every boy, every girl. Everyone. We would have to go to the suburbs to get the rest to get an equal number to the one noted above. Simply stated there are not enough people in San Jose. A city completed emptied of its population. A large city, but still not enough. About 4,000 were killed on 9/11 and we have fought two wars as a result. One million over a 22 year period and we go on as if it is business as usual. One million dreams- ended.
I have blogged about gun control before. I will howl at the moon again today for a bit. I own guns. Yes that is plural. Guns. I never point a gun at anything I don't intend to shoot. I treat it as if it is loaded every time I pick it up. I don't store them loaded. I don't own anything that is so valuable that I would shoot you to keep it. I have insurance. My pride does not require me to kill you to maintain or retain my self respect. I understand that death is forever. I want you to have time to make peace with what you have done and that means I cannot shoot you. If that causes my death I am okay with that outcome. I understand the second amendment allows citizens to keep and bear arms. Like freedom of speech the right is not unlimited. You cannot say whatever you want whenever you want. Clearly the rules say you cannot go into a crowded theater and yell fire. You cannot own any weapon you want. Most citizens cannot own a fully automatic machine gun, or a tank, or a mortar, or a howitzer. So our right to bear arms can be legally limited. I don't know where to draw the line. I don't know what weapons should be restricted or eliminated from private ownership. What I do know is that over a million people cannot participate in that conversation. They have no voice in the discussion. A discussion we need to have in a civilized manner. Stop the grandstanding and name calling. I understand criminals are still going to have guns. If universal background checks were supported by the NRA 20 years ago why the opposition now? If we keep guns out of the hands of one idiot who intends harm isn't it worth the effort?
John Lennon sang the lyrics "All you need is love, Love, love is all you need." He doesn't sing that anymore or anything else for that matter. Would gun control have saved him? Probably not. It does not mean that we shouldn't have the conversation. Let's talk about the issues. Not yelling crap like "From my cold dead hands". One million corpses ask us to talk. Maybe nothing changes. Talk. You hold your guns proudly and proclaim your right to keep them while you shout and deny me my right to freedom of speech. Lower the rhetoric and the volume. We are adults. Let's talk like adults. Debate like adults. Make decisions like adults. Live with the results like adults. Whatever the final decision is on guns I will live with the outcome. I will feel like I have been heard. I will abide by the law.
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