Let me go on the record as stating that I am a gun owner. Proudly. I believe whole-heartedly in the right to protect myself and my family against the bad things (and bad people) that are running around out there. Now, that's not to say I'm gonna carry the gun in the car, waiting to pop a cap in somebody's ass, but if you break into my house? Better hope the cops get here before I can reach my gun, asshole. And this is coming from someone who wouldn't join the military because the thought of taking another life was, at the time, against every logical thought I had. (Well, that and I have this thing about being given orders all the time. Shit, guess I got over that, since I got married! Just kidding, honey. Love you!)
My best friend has become quite the gun collector in recent years. He's got a pretty impressive collection of handguns and long guns, and I'm learning more about weapons and ammunition than I ever thought I'd need to know. He is, as I am, a strong supporter of the Second Amendment.
However, he and I differ on a few points, and these are points I think I differ with many of you on, so I figure I'll take a second to lay out my case.
Let me begin by laying a little knowledge on you: if you truly believe that the government is going to take away your guns and/or force everyone to register their guns, you've bought into the fear-mongering propaganda the media (and the gunmakers) want you to buy into. Hell, the result of the scare is that I can't find a box of 9mm ammo anywhere in the BiState area. Meanwhile, I can buy all the hunting ammo and shotgun shells I want. Guess what's getting pulled on that burglar when he decides to come steal MY shit? Trust me, when he hears that 'rack-rack', he'll have a pretty damn good idea what I'm carrying.
Now, I'm not saying they probably won't ban SOME weapons. Whether I agree with it or not, it's a truth that we're probably going to have to deal with. I totally agree that the incident at Sandy Hook Elementary, and all the other gun-related tragedies around the country, are just that: tragedies. However, we tend as a society to point the finger at the wrong thing, and we've gotten pretty damn good at it, too. Somebody shoots up an elementary school? Had to be the guns, right? Couldn't possibly be the fact the guy was mentally unstable from a home background that wasn't NEARLY as sunny as the sunshine the media was trying initially to blow up our collective asses about it. It's like spilling a hot cup of coffee in your lap while driving, then suing McDonald's for not warning you about the coffee being hot. Seriously? The fact that chick got money makes me fucking puke. It's COFFEE. The shit's SUPPOSED to be hot. Hell, I weigh over 350 pounds. Does that mean I get to sue McDonald's, Jack In The Box, Taco Bell, and all the other fast food restaurants I've eaten at over the past 20 years or so for selling me food that might make me fat? Hell no. Reasonable intelligence tells us I should've been smart enough to know that eating their shit and not exercising would make me fatter than Jabba The Hutt (and if Disney's coming after me for royalty money for using the name, fuck off).
The point is, we as a society don't fucking THINK sometimes. Guns don't kill people. People do. The guns are just the tool used to accomplish the task. There's a reason why people on suicide watch in the hospital don't get shoe strings, belts, or sheets. They are also tools that can be used to take a life. Hell, prisoners make shivs out of toothbrushes. Does that mean we ban toothbrushes in prison? Of course not. I heard it said once that if someone is determined to do something, they're going to do it regardless of what rule, law, or policy you have out there, and, in my opinion, blaming the guns isn't the answer. Though I can see why, in the moment of emotion, it's easy to do so.
Now, with that in mind, you can pretty much bet your bottom dollar that assault rifles (or rifles that can be converted to be assault rifles) will be banned, along with the ginormous clips that some of them currently have. While I don't agree with banning of weaponry, this one really doesn't piss me off as bad as you might think. After all, what the hell do you need with an assault rifle anyway? I didn't realize the deer were fighting back. What the hell do you intend to shoot with it? Anyone? Yeah, that's right, if you've got an assault rifle, you're most likely doing two things with it: showing it off to your friends, and holding it in case of anarchy, in which case you'll use it to, wait for it, kill people.
And, those big clips.....Let me just ask: How crappy of a shot are you if you need a gazillion fucking bullets? I shoot once a year, at most, and the ten round clip in my handgun is more than enough. Hell, if, God forbid, I have to defend myself against an intruder and I NEED more than ten shots, I'm probably fucked anyway.
I don't know sometimes. I mean, we're arguing about guns, and yet there's an entire group of people in our country who are denied the right to have their relationships considered marriage on a federal level. At the same time, we have older folks out there who have to decide between keeping the air conditioning on in their home during the summer or being able to purchase the medications they need to survive. We have kids out there who don't know where they're going to sleep tonight, or when they're going to get a good meal.
Let's get over this thing, people. Sometimes shit happens that sucks and we don't like. What we do is deal with it. And, if it's really BAD legislation, we get ourselves an excellent fucking lawyer and go to the Supreme Court with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment