On Dec. 3 I wrote about gun violence. Since then (only 11 days later) the following have happened:
1) In Minnesota - a 2 year-old was shot and killed by his brother who was playing with a gun that he found in their house.
2) In Minnesota - a grandfather shot and killed his own teen-age granddaughter, who was at the back door fumbling with her key, thinking it was a stranger breaking into his house.
3) In Oregon - a mass shooter at a mall killed shoppers.
4) Today in Connecticut - a mass shooter killed small children as young as five years old and teachers in their school!
These are the incidents I can remember. I'm sure there are more. I heard on the radio tonight that there are usually about 20 public shootings per year in America. Today's in Connecticut is out of the ordinary simply because of the ages of the victims and the higher-than-average number of deaths. It's not even an anomaly if one looks only at the numbers.
I am heart sick. How can we keep accepting this as a "normal" part of American life?
On Dec. 3 I said I was going to write to my legislators. I did not do it, because most of my reps already agree with me on gun control (we need more of it) and because it feels so hopeless to tackle such an enormous topic in today's political climate. It still feels that way. But now I am going to write to them. There may be one who needs a little push. Ultimately, if we could pass stricter laws and save one life, it would be worth it, wouldn't it??? I think those parents in Connecticut would have been thrilled if we had managed to save one of those children by acting earlier than we did.
I am still reading a good book, nearing the end, but am not ready to give my Friday book report. Instead, I encourage any blog readers who reside in the USA to speak up for gun control, to help create a saner world that will protect us from ourselves.
2 comments:
Time for us people to voice our opinion.
I've started this campaign for "our rights to carry rocket launchers".
Through this I'm trying to create awareness on how ridiculous the gun supporters claims are.
Hope you visit my site and help spread the message.
http://www.myrocketlauncher.com/
Well here is the run down for 2012:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/171774/fifteen-us-mass-shootings-happened-2012-84-dead#
By your figures, we are four incidents short, but hey we still have 16 days.
Why did this happen? Mental illness. Yes, but there will alway be crazy people...you can't prevent people from going off the deep end. So that is not the problem.
The problem is us. The insane society that tolerates this carnage year after year.
Remember, on your last post I referenced an article from the Atlantic:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/12/the-case-for-more-guns-and-more-gun-control/309161/
Well i did read that article, here are some highlights:
--There are 280 to 300 million guns in the US.
--Guns are responsible for about 30,000 deaths a year in America, half are suicides. Roughly 600 are accidents, so that leaves about 14,000 + intentional killings.
--Federal background checks do not apply to gun shows.
--The assault rifle ban expired in 2004.
--It is possible to buy 50 and 100 round magazines for some models of assault rifles.
--It is possible to buy high capacity clips for semi-automatic pistols.
Well we can at least take comfort in the fact that fully automatic weapons are illegal. And some gun enthusiasts present this as a positive argument justifying a host of "lesser" sins. Yet I submit to you that your chances of surviving an assault by a crazy inexperienced person with a fully automatic weapon may be better. They will get off 3 shots with some accuracy and will have 17 bullet holes in the ceiling and an empty clip. On the contrary, semi-automatic fire is extremely fast (as fast as you can pull the trigger) and far more accurate because you regain control of the weapon between each shot.
So why would we allow the ban on assault rifles to end? Did it violate anyone's second amendment rights? Hey they are only semi-automatics, they are not machine guns! (See what I mean.) Assault rifles are not hunting guns. They have one purpose, to efficiently kill and maim human beings. The light high velocity bullets used in these weapons are actually designed to penetrate flesh and then tumble causing horrific and massive (but not necessarily fatal wounds). Massive casualties to enemy is far more effective than killing in war. But in the close, unimpeded firing at a mass shooting these weapons are extremely deadly.
For children, it hardly matters what weapon is used, their small bodies almost ensure any shot will be fatal.
It is the Christmas season. We always have hopes that children will have a love filled holidays and that Santa will bring them that special something that they have their heart set on.
And here I sit with tears in my eyes, holding what has to be the most God damned bizarre and ugly thought that I have ever had. I hope those 20 children died quickly and painlessly. That has to be the ultimate Christmas blasphemy.
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