I grew up on a West Texas dirt farm. The farm was about 13 miles North of Big Spring, Texas and from almost the get go of remembrance I had guns and hunted many times a week. Most of the game was cooked and added to what ever else was on the table. Once a teenager I would join my Dad's annual company sponsored hunting trip to either Utah or Colorado. Guns and hunting were just a part of life and even to this day some of my most pleasant memories are of those trips, of being outdoors, in the mountains on beautiful Fall days and of sitting in the cook tent at night playing card games and telling lies with friends and family.
Somewhere along the way I begin to change and I slowly started becoming uncomfortable with killing living things to the point of protecting most household pests, of finding ways to remove instead of squashing. People can and do change.
A long way around to my finding the fact that in the States, this year, we have had almost a mass shooting every day of the fucking year, the last one over 50 souls in KLAS. I am physically and mentally sick and ashamed my country can't get its shit together and confront the gun lobby with common sense gun control laws. That should be the first step but not the only one it will take longer but we also need to find and root out the sickness that works with freely available guns and leads to killing for no other reason but killing.
ken
P.S. I will not engage trolls and their straw man arguments. If you have something constructive to say I would love to hear it.
Nevada has some of the laxest gun laws in the country. I am not sure that it is possible to catch nut jobs before they go on these rampages. England doesn't have a gun problem. Maybe we could follow their model?
ReplyDeleteIt is a sad thing for sure.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid that once in a while the media are also playing an unwilling part in it.
At the moment it seems like all the rage in the world is to become famous. If you are not very good at singing, sport, economics or if you are just an average person like most of us, then there is sadly a very easy way to your 5 minutes of fame.
The worse you do - the more media attention there will be.
And since the media lives on viewers, the more in depth they can get - the more viewers their channel gets. And the more attention the psychopath gets.
Censorship of the media is a difficult thing to enforce too, and one that doesn't play along nicely with an open and free democratic nation. But perhaps it was possible for the media to make some ethical guidelines for themselves and then try to follow them, instead of swarming around like a flock of vultures feeding on disasters. And giving other psychopaths new ideas.
Take care
Jonas
You need to look at your voter base to answer the question that would be a stupid one in civilized nations. How much you want to bet that silencers are legalized in this Congress?
ReplyDeleteI had my sights on a doe when I made the decision to trade for a camera. That season, forty years ago, was nerve wracking for my own safety.
It isn't too ironic that you can't carry a gun into a NRA convention. Or a Republican convention.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the weapon carriers have more good guys than bad guys, their oft communicated strategy should play out save the day. I say walk the talk.
We Canadian would probably never understand this gun fascination your country men have. We are perfectly happy to let ONLY Law enforcenment officials and our militarty to carry full automatic weapons and feel safe.
ReplyDeleteIt is one thing to have to right to carry weapon, but it is another to restrict their access or usage. Here if you want to fire a full automatic weapon, join the military!!!
Bob, who fired all kinds of weapons up to a 105 mm Howitzer field gun arg arg arg... (was a reservist with 2nd Field Artillery in Montreal as a kid)
Oh and a slingshot and bow and arrows too :-)
Guys,
ReplyDeleteAll the other Bill of Rights have some restrictions placed on them but not the Seond. All the NRA's arguments in support of keeping the 2nd restriction free do not hold up to close exam. I know it's a political problem but it is one that must be solved.
I fear for my country more than anytime in my 75 years...I used to say the good news was I would be dead before the god bothers, gun nuts, and investment banker could destroy the US....I'm not so sure now.
Ken