Saturday, April 7, 2012

Stupid Sayings: ‘Guns don’t kill…people do’ Really?

          Good day Humboldt County!

One of the realities we all face in our journey through life is the possibility of facing violence involving a gun. I have heard the phrase “Guns don’t kill – people do,” and frankly consider it a cop out. The U.S. has the most open gun laws of any society on the planet. The result is predictable; more innocent bystanders are killed daily with bullets than in any other country in the world.

You can’t go one day looking through the daily news without finding incidents of gun play resulting in murders. People of all ages have access to weapons in our gun-happy society. Groups like the NRA play on people’s fears. They promote easy access to weapons in the name of self defense and lobby against any laws restricting the use of any weapon. Laws like the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida allows people to pull guns and shoot first – and then say they were afraid for their lives.

Cases like the shooting of Trayvon Martin illustrate how easy it is to kill an unarmed person in a scuffle and claim self defense. Despite the fact that the shooter, George Zimmerman, pursued Martin and created a confrontation, then claimed self defense. Zimmerman brought a gun to a fist fight that he started himself, and when Martin hit him he used the gun.

Innocent people, children, teens, and adults die every day from gunshot wounds. Yet, nothing can be done about it when you have groups like the NRA lobbying consistently to keep the flow of guns and ammo steady. They fight any laws meant to restrict sales, or the use of weapons, and get real ugly when asked to do so. It’s no wonder we lead the world on having the most murders of civilians by weapons.

 First here’s an excellent opinion piece on the subject:

Some examples ripped from the headlines today:

Shooter targeting blacks in Tulsa, Oklahoma?

Miami cops: Girl, 15, shot as she sleeps in her bed

Cops: Dad dies after shielding son, 8, from barrage of bullets

Walmart employee killed during robbery in Phoenix

For black parents in Pasadena, shootings give fresh relevance to 'The Talk'

I could go on, but I’m sure you get my point. Anyone in this country that wants a weapon can get it. Law abiding people, and criminals have no problem getting the weapon of their choice. The ensuing result is has gotten completely out of control. I wish there was an answer, a way we could cut back in the accessibility of weapons, but I know that’s not going to happen when you have gun and ammo makers getting rich and the NRA blocking any attempts to stop the deadly stream of weapons from being accessible.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

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