The evil that visited Newtown, Conn. last Friday is so unspeakable, I really can’t find the words to express how I feel about it.
Like many Americans, and people around the world, I am stuck on that one simple question, “why?”
It seems like only days ago I wrote to you about how violence, with guns or otherwise, was a rot on this nation’s spirit, a cancer eating away at our collective conscience. That was after a young man, who seemingly had a lot going for him, or could have, decided to shoot up a movie theater audience in Aurora, Colo. this summer. That horrific crime reminded all of us of Virginia Tech, the deadliest school shooting in American history, which at the time, of course, reminded us of Columbine, eight years earlier.
And now this.
The stain of this act will be a blemish on this country’s soul for a lot longer than my generation will be around, and probably for longer than the next few generations. You don’t wash away the blood or the memory of 20 slain first graders very easily or very quickly. Unthinkable.
And unlike after what happened in Aurora, this time I do blame guns. Or at least, I blame the ease with which we allow idiots to purchase and carry guns, the only purpose for which is to kill people. Throw around the Second Amendment all you want, but the founding fathers had no idea citizens would be carrying around assault weapons with 30-round clips. Gun nuts will tell you that’s not the half of it. A Bushmaster with 30 rounds is child’s play to what is commonly traded among enthusiasts these days.
Among responsible gun lovers, that’s fine. Buy your hand cannons and your AR-15s. But so many gun owners careen through life on the edge of stability, that it’s high time we as a nation have a serious talk about restricting some people’s ability to purchase certain firearms.
I recently described to a local hunter how I would go about good gun control. It would be federal, across the board in every state.
First, I’d make gun purchases not only require registering the gun, but also require a license, which would in itself require specific instruction from an authorized firearms instructor — the cost of which would be included in fees attached to gun and ammunition prices. I would make it a requirement that you update that license every few years or relinquish it and the privilege of owning the gun it’s tied to. Commit a violent crime of any sort, misdemeanor or otherwise and you lose the gun privilege forever.
Want that double-barreled shotgun? Well, take a background check, sign up for the double-barreled shotgun class and go at it the instructors would hopefully weed out the idiots . When you pass it, you can purchase your firearm, register it and be on your merry way.
Same with every other type of gun — except assault rifles.
Assault rifles are special guns, generally only available to police and military — except in bloodthirsty America, where the National Rifle Association owns half of Congress and the entire Republican Party, and thus you can go buy a “kindergartener killer” at any freaking Walmart you wish.
Back to my plan. Assault rifles would require not just your regular, renewable gun license which you’d have to have first , but would require a special license and special instruction, sort of like being licensed by the DMV to drive a big rig, but more strenuous. And if you’re caught in possession of such a weapon without a license, including ammunition for it, there would be stiff criminal penalties.
Restricting personal liberties is awful, I know. But so are dead first graders.
Education, registration, licensing and harsh criminal penalties for gun crimes will save lives. Just like the DMV has kept some people off the roads who have no business being there, I think serious federal restrictions of the type I just described are very much in order. My hunter buddy says I just described Canada. How many Canadian first graders were shot and killed on Friday?
Still, me and you both know no amount of restriction in the world will save every life. Bob Costas was wrong the other night on Monday night football. Had Javon Belcher, the Kansas City Chief who shot himself in front of his coaches, not had a gun, he would’ve simply strangled Kasandra Perkins. Or stabbed her. Or run her over with his car. Or drowned her. Or set her on fire.
People kill. And in bloodthirsty America, the slaughter continues every day and will until we evolve as a species if we survive . But, smart gun control and a little more intelligence how does a mother take her mentally ill son to a gun range I’ll never understand , and maybe we can keep all of our first graders alive for Christmas.
Light a candle Tuesday night for the angels: Charlotte Bacon, 6, Daniel Barden, 7, Olivia Engel, 6, Josephine Gay, 7, Dylan Hockley, 6, Madeleine F. Hsu, 6, Catherine V. Hubbard, 6, Chase Kowalski, 7, Jesse Lewis, 6, Ana Marquez-Greene, 6, James Mattioli, 6, Grace Audrey McDonnell, 7, Emilie Parker, 6, Jack Pinto, 6, Noah Pozner, 6, Caroline Previdi, 6, Jessica Rekos, 6, Avielle Richman, 6, Benjamin Wheeler, 6, and Allison Wyatt, 6.
On Wednesday, fire off an angry letter to your congressman. Demand real gun control now. Our children deserve nothing less.
It is my right to defend myself against the fallen nature of any man who “wants, desires, chooses” to harm or kill me, my family or my neighbors. Murder starts in the heart of man in the form of hatred. Some act upon the hatred that every man possesses to different degrees and some commit the physical act of murder itself. When one picks up a handgun, rifle or any “object” capable of doing harm or bringing death, the object itself does not transfer some invisible inclination to the person holding it, causing spontaneous murder. No, murder is premeditated and begins in the heart of man not on the gun shelf of your local sporting goods store. And while the subject and reality of mental illness is a very real problem, it is wrongly becoming the scapegoat to the “professionals” seeking to lay blame somewhere. The condition of the human heart will always be the initial conduit to all of mans ills against his fellow man. The sickest mind can only respond to the degree of depravity in of the heart. “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” There are no doubt some who will dismiss this thinking as theological rhetoric and can easily justify themselves as being good when comparing themselves to the shooter in Conn. For that matter any mass murderer could attempt and justify himself by comparing himself to say, Hitler, I mean he was responsible for the murder of millions not just 27. But the fact remains that we all posses a fallen nature, and this should be where we focus. In the mean time, I will continue to own and carry my own weapon in defense against those more inclined to fully give themselves over to their own sick heart. Finally, I will remain totally dependent on the only One who can change the heart of man and renew his mind. In Him is the only hope for mankind.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Could not agree more, nor put in in such fine words, my hat is off to you brother.
As someone who spent the last week checking out gun shows and gun stores in the area, I would say gun control nuts have one heck of a fight ahead of them. People are buying up guns in record numbers, magazines by the millions. One distributor sold out of 4 months of magazines in 2 days.
Do these gun control radicals really think people are going to willingly give up their rights?
Since you ask in the form of a question I will reply thus: BECAUSE IT”S MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT !! It doesnt have to do with hunting either. Try reading the constitution. My gun rights are no more up for debate than your freedom of speech is. And that sucks because we have constitutional rights, you dont have to approve, but they are not up for debate . The founding fathers put the bill of rights right up front so you dont have to read much to understand that freedom has a definition. Take away my guns, I will take away your freedom of the press. Not up for debate on free speech? Exactly – no gun control – no constitutional dickering – never – no way – we will keep our guns – you dont have to like it.
This post was edited for the rules. PVT
It would be nice if all you gun nuts would actually read the ENTIRE second amendment. Not just the second half. Are you in a militia? Is it well regulated? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two landmark decisions concerning the Second Amendment. In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), the Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia.
There was an armed police officer at Columbine, and the Fort Hood shooting took place on a miltary base. So the NRA can stick their idea of having a police officer at every school where the sun don’t shine. I wonder how the NRA would like it if we put a tax on all guns and ammunition to pay for the police needed? Somehow I think they would object. We have been trying it their way for how long now? And yet things keep getting worse. Of course I don’t expect all the narrow minded fools with their you know what complexes in this town to understand.
Robert you are a fool. Why dont you reading the founding fathers letters concerning the 2nd amendment.It might sink into that far left liberal brain(LOL)or that progressive crap thinking of yours that most of Americans are happy the way the Constitution is now. You don’t like it here than MOVE to a country of your choosing. And I am not a member of the NRA.
Did we have a standing army back then? No, we didn’t. Case closed.
Learn some history, our Founding Fathers didn’t really like a standing Army to begin with. The 2nd amendment is there so we can over throw our gov if we have to! That’s it’s main reason for being. Case closed.
“the Fort Hood shooting took place on a miltary base.” where they are NOT allowed to carry loaded weapons.
Funny how a few liberals all spew the same talking points, when it was their gun banning hero Bill Clinton who was the one behind our military no longer being armed on base. Hmm, wonder how Ft Hood would have turned out if we allowed our military to be armed while on base.
Among Clinton’s first acts upon taking office in 1993 was to disarm U.S. soldiers on military bases.
As for schools, Its overly simplistic to just take everyone’s guns away as a means of preventing school shootings. The ONLY thing that will stop a crazed person from shooting up a school is a sane person protecting said school, WITH a gun.
Oh and the term “regulated” In Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that “the adjective ‘well-regulated’ implies nothing more than the imposition of casual training. In short, the satisfaction of the requirement of “well regulated” could simply mean I go out once a month to target shoot.
Wait a min, as an ex-military person from 66 to 69 we were not arm on base or ship even if you were on watch. Well on watch we were armed, but no ammo. Now this is long before Clinton, Nixon was in office at the time.
Our children getting killed in schools or anywhere for that matter is one of the most horrific and painful tradgies that could happen. Don’t know what the answer is that will stop these senseless killings. I have guns in my house and would not want that right taken away from me, but something does need to be done to prevent these senseless killings. Anyone with any type of mental illness should not be able to get a gun or be in a home where a gun is present. Us as gun owners need to make sure our guns are in a secure place. In this latest senseless killing, even the mother of the shooter was afraid to turn her back on her son, so why did he have access to her guns? In the Colorado shooting, the shooter wrote his professor letters of signs of his mental illness. Why didn’t the school realize something was wrong and tried to intervene before he went on his shooting spree? For right now, I’m just praying for all
According to statistics….You have more likeliness of being killed by a heart attack from being FAT, yet no one is banning Burger joints?
You have a great chance of being killed by a drunk driver, yet no one is talking about banning cars, alcohol or restricting gas.
Better chances of being hit by lightning TWICE in the same day, as being killed in a “School Shooting” or even knowing anyone who is.
The people ranting about banning guns to “save 20 six year old children” are the same people who would have celebrated these same children being aborted among the butchered millions per year as a “Freedom” and “Choice”.
“Had they been killed six years and 5 months ago? No problem! But since it was yesterday? Punish EVERYONE that doesnt think like I do.”
I also notice the usual “Socialist Media” crisis-propaganda-spin here, because they are also trying to blame “Violence” in TV, movies and games…..Yet somehow COINCIDENTALLY forgot to ever even mention, hint or whisper about RAP MUSIC.
That would be RACIST!!!! Right? Even though its THE most violent media out there.
Things are ONLY “Violent” and only need to be “banned” or when we are talking about it for ALL of you white straight taxPAYING and Law-Abiding people.
Thats where Socialist , Career-Welfare and Polly-anna voter Logic lies.
.” The people ranting about banning guns to “save 20 six year old children” are the same people who would have celebrated these same children being aborted among the butchered millions per year as a “Freedom” and “Choice”.
“Had they been killed six years and 5 months ago? No problem! But since it was yesterday? Punish EVERYONE that doesnt think like I do.”
It’s much easier on the conscience when you don’t have to see the victim.
What does PV Times editor and its reporters and the RJ R Same Vegas have in common ?
They Lie! make uassumptions and are Apprehensiblele to not be responsible for ones own defense in America !
To the Editor of the PV times you can not be serious are you ? are you a student of Mao,Marx,Stalin, Lennon,,Krucheiv ? Do you communicate
with the Pravda of a Soviet Democracy of Thugocracy and its Journalis of the NBC,MSNBC Crowd who took a tragedy and made it a poetical-itical Fraud on Failed arguments and the Stupid Diane Feinstein Who does not sit on the Arms Committe any more make the same arguments On the Infamous You do not seem to mis understand of Assault and the AR is Not an Assault Weapon! why Liberals deny Websters Definitions ?
Assault is a french word noun & a verb is to rape/battery or to raise ones fist and use it or actual Stradegy by a Attacking Force commonly used in “The Military To plan of attack to Assult.” Assault is by an item any Weapon of your choice in the heat of the moment can make a weapon leathal,any Leathal Fire arms is an easy choice but to control an Item with no soul? the Mind behind the trigger is the evil one Not God Fearing Americans and our fire arms of CHOICE !, the Editor sounds like he is Losing it on the verge himself .
Your PLAN SUCKS ! You would have a hard row to plow and would not make your first arguments past Pahrump ! LOL !
We need serious Education for all not a one sidd discussion who areIgnorant of fire arms and its Usefulness in Our culture we need US LE,Combat vets and pass history of the Bounty Hunters,US Marshal and FBI and County Sheriffs to have a real discussion and not worry aout any Politcal Jounalist run debate Arena!
Why we need fire arms as a first line of defense ! Move to The Big City and Ask Who is safer in their home we in Pahrump with Real fire arms Sensabilities or Chicago,ILL! with an Insane Idiot Mayor, Democrat running the show A thug Himself !
The Editor said, “weapons with 30-round clips”, when in fact it should be “weapons with 30-round magazines”. Its a common mistake, but one that needs to be pointed if such an argument is to be taken seriously. Just saying.
How can the writer of this opinion refer to defenders as gun nuts.
How can the writers use of abusive language such as idiots, be approved for publication.
An armed citizenry is to protect against government excesses as in Nazi Germany, the Jews and others had no guns, Iraq, Syria etc are similar. Maybe some day we will have a way to prevent murders without removing guns from the equation.
Law enforcement today is studying ways to predict when crimes will occur and may eventually understand the nature of killing before it would happen.
Well just last night on the news it was reported the cities with the strictest gun laws, have the highest murder rates. They gave two examples, Chicago with 500 for 2012 and NYC with well over 400 for 2012. So much for your gun laws.
Here are some facts that show where there is lower gun laws, murder rates go down.
http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
http://theacru.org/acru/harvard_study_gun_control_is_counterproductive/