And the Bleat Goes On - Gun Control and Social Media
Countless post-Nashville comments on ‘social media’ platforms contained some variation of this actual post:
“So heartbroken for the people of Nashville today. I have a message for the leaders on both sides of the aisle today. Please stop competing against each other and start working on the important issues that currently and directly affect the people in our country. Today, again, so tragically shows this need. Another mass shooting...in an elementary school. To our lawmakers please consider this again as you have before... a 2-month waiting period on gun purchases. A lot of bad can be stopped in 2 months. Much tougher controls at gun shows...at the doors and at the tables..and better screening and penalties for sellers who don't comply. I'm all in favor of our country-given right to bear arms but no need for assault rifles except in wars. We need to move forward..we need our leaders in government to have the guts to stop wasting time on their re-election and start focusing on making the hard decisions to make positive change for our country. My daughter is in a middle school teaching her class right now. I have a half dozen close friends and family members that are or have been teachers. I've never, ever worried for them like I do now at their jobs. This has to stop.”
Here in one paragraph are all the ingredients necessary to understand the ignorance born of emotion infecting many participating in conversations about guns, gun control, ‘mass murders’, ‘school shootings’, and similar tragedies. Sadly, the writers rarely realize the countless errors in their screeds.
Parsing would be helpful.
“Please stop competing against each other and start working on the important issues that currently and directly affect the people in our country.”
This is begging for the impossible with a touch of naivete. Legislators are not about to ‘stop competing’. It’s what they live for: power, control, money, attention, (re)election. Supporting legislation that threatens any of these is DOA. More importantly, is the quaint notion that additional legislation will suddenly provide the miraculous solution not found in over 50,000 gun control laws and regulations currently in force.
“…a 2-month waiting period on gun purchases. A lot of bad can be stopped in 2 months.”
This is as ludicrous as it is simplistic as it is impossible. If ‘a lot of bad can be stopped in 2 months”, why not 3 months? Or 6? Or 12? What facts support the quaint notion any waiting period has stopped ‘a lot of bad’? There is more empirical evidence to the contrary. Criminals do not purchase their weapons retail with the required background checks but stealing has no waiting period or other limitations. Short of an outright ban, requiring longer waiting periods is the plaintive wail of the emotionally distressed or intellectually uninformed. Other than a throw-away line for a political neophyte, it is a waste of time and oxygen.
Much tougher controls at gun shows...at the doors and at the tables..and better screening and penalties for sellers who don't comply.
You can’t pack much more ignorance in 25 words or less than this writer who obviously knows nothing about the legal functioning of a gun show and the stringent requirements that must be met by FFL holders, the federally licensed gun dealers. Guns are checked and made safe with plastic tie-downs at the door by uniformed local or state police officers. For purchases, dealers require a state picture ID and a completed Form 4473 which is then called into NICS for approval. What else would the writer require? “Better screening and penalties…”? Specifically, how much “better” could one recommend and still be within the bounds of what’s legal? It is ludicrous to believe a licensed gun dealer would sacrifice his business and freedom for the tiny profit from selling a gun to a proven felon. The plea for more regulations and greater penalties is a Statist wet dream, not a practical solution.
I'm all in favor of our country-given right to bear arms but no need for assault rifles except in wars.
Anyone stating they “are in favor of the right to bear arms but…” isn’t in favor of the right at all. The ‘but’ gives it all away. Everything stipulated prior to the 'but' is hogwash; “.…shall not be infringed’” blocks the ‘but’. In addition, citizens do not possess a “country-given right to bear arms”. The right to self-defense is a Natural right that comes from our humanity, not some legislature or piece of parchment. Without the 2nd Amendment, we would still have the essential right of self-defense. The Founders put it in the Bill of Rights to restrict later power addicts from doing something stupid. And tyrannical.
My daughter is in a middle school teaching her class right now. I have a half dozen close friends and family members that are or have been teachers. I've never, ever worried for them like I do now at their jobs. This has to stop.
Finally, we come to the Mother Lode, the adrenaline-fueled source of this poorly scribbled rant. Because the latest tragedy took place in a school and 3 teachers were killed, the writer seems suddenly concerned for the lives of friends and relatives who shared that profession. One wonders if the level of concern ran that high when the dead consisted of dancing nightclub attendees or bank employees. Selective “worry” based on relationship and occupation seems a tad hypocritical.
Rather than squander time and effort fretting about the tragedy of life already lost, those so moved to engage would serve the pursuit of solutions more constructively by careful consideration of the issues, laws, and legality of their recommendations before launching worn-out cliches that accomplish nothing.
“So heartbroken for the people of Nashville today. I have a message for the leaders on both sides of the aisle today. Please stop competing against each other and start working on the important issues that currently and directly affect the people in our country. Today, again, so tragically shows this need. Another mass shooting...in an elementary school. To our lawmakers please consider this again as you have before... a 2-month waiting period on gun purchases. A lot of bad can be stopped in 2 months. Much tougher controls at gun shows...at the doors and at the tables..and better screening and penalties for sellers who don't comply. I'm all in favor of our country-given right to bear arms but no need for assault rifles except in wars. We need to move forward..we need our leaders in government to have the guts to stop wasting time on their re-election and start focusing on making the hard decisions to make positive change for our country. My daughter is in a middle school teaching her class right now. I have a half dozen close friends and family members that are or have been teachers. I've never, ever worried for them like I do now at their jobs. This has to stop.”
Here in one paragraph are all the ingredients necessary to understand the ignorance born of emotion infecting many participating in conversations about guns, gun control, ‘mass murders’, ‘school shootings’, and similar tragedies. Sadly, the writers rarely realize the countless errors in their screeds.
Parsing would be helpful.
“Please stop competing against each other and start working on the important issues that currently and directly affect the people in our country.”
This is begging for the impossible with a touch of naivete. Legislators are not about to ‘stop competing’. It’s what they live for: power, control, money, attention, (re)election. Supporting legislation that threatens any of these is DOA. More importantly, is the quaint notion that additional legislation will suddenly provide the miraculous solution not found in over 50,000 gun control laws and regulations currently in force.
“…a 2-month waiting period on gun purchases. A lot of bad can be stopped in 2 months.”
This is as ludicrous as it is simplistic as it is impossible. If ‘a lot of bad can be stopped in 2 months”, why not 3 months? Or 6? Or 12? What facts support the quaint notion any waiting period has stopped ‘a lot of bad’? There is more empirical evidence to the contrary. Criminals do not purchase their weapons retail with the required background checks but stealing has no waiting period or other limitations. Short of an outright ban, requiring longer waiting periods is the plaintive wail of the emotionally distressed or intellectually uninformed. Other than a throw-away line for a political neophyte, it is a waste of time and oxygen.
Much tougher controls at gun shows...at the doors and at the tables..and better screening and penalties for sellers who don't comply.
You can’t pack much more ignorance in 25 words or less than this writer who obviously knows nothing about the legal functioning of a gun show and the stringent requirements that must be met by FFL holders, the federally licensed gun dealers. Guns are checked and made safe with plastic tie-downs at the door by uniformed local or state police officers. For purchases, dealers require a state picture ID and a completed Form 4473 which is then called into NICS for approval. What else would the writer require? “Better screening and penalties…”? Specifically, how much “better” could one recommend and still be within the bounds of what’s legal? It is ludicrous to believe a licensed gun dealer would sacrifice his business and freedom for the tiny profit from selling a gun to a proven felon. The plea for more regulations and greater penalties is a Statist wet dream, not a practical solution.
I'm all in favor of our country-given right to bear arms but no need for assault rifles except in wars.
Anyone stating they “are in favor of the right to bear arms but…” isn’t in favor of the right at all. The ‘but’ gives it all away. Everything stipulated prior to the 'but' is hogwash; “.…shall not be infringed’” blocks the ‘but’. In addition, citizens do not possess a “country-given right to bear arms”. The right to self-defense is a Natural right that comes from our humanity, not some legislature or piece of parchment. Without the 2nd Amendment, we would still have the essential right of self-defense. The Founders put it in the Bill of Rights to restrict later power addicts from doing something stupid. And tyrannical.
My daughter is in a middle school teaching her class right now. I have a half dozen close friends and family members that are or have been teachers. I've never, ever worried for them like I do now at their jobs. This has to stop.
Finally, we come to the Mother Lode, the adrenaline-fueled source of this poorly scribbled rant. Because the latest tragedy took place in a school and 3 teachers were killed, the writer seems suddenly concerned for the lives of friends and relatives who shared that profession. One wonders if the level of concern ran that high when the dead consisted of dancing nightclub attendees or bank employees. Selective “worry” based on relationship and occupation seems a tad hypocritical.
Rather than squander time and effort fretting about the tragedy of life already lost, those so moved to engage would serve the pursuit of solutions more constructively by careful consideration of the issues, laws, and legality of their recommendations before launching worn-out cliches that accomplish nothing.
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