No
More Guns
Some
years ago, West Hollywood became
the first city in the country to
outlaw the sale of small, cheap
handguns otherwise known as
"Saturday Night
Specials". Though more a
symbolic gesture reflecting the
city's pro gun-control stance,
the measure was vehemently
opposed by the NRA on principle
alone. I remember the local
lobbying campaign, as well as the
immense satisfaction I felt upon
its passage and implementation.
Here, finally, would be change
for the better. One small step
for a city... One giant leap for
civilized man...
Fast
Forward to Present Day. A guy
takes $700 (less expensive than
most of my guitars) and purchases
a .223 caliber Bushmaster
semi-automatic assault rifle with
sniper scope, and for three weeks
terrorizes an entire region by
randomly picking off one person
at a time as if big-game trophy
hunting on the plains of
sub-Saharan Africa. The final
tally: 10 dead, 3 seriously
wounded, millions of dollars in
lost business as well as the cost
of massive law enforcement
deployment, another emotional
scar on a populous still coming
to grips with 9/11, and NRA
lapdogs demanding that no one
"exploit" the tragedy
by linking it to gun-control.
Excuse me!? Exploit the tragedy!?
We have rules for engagement, do
we, vis-a-vis the NRA?
Debate must now be framed within
a certain context with these
people, otherwise there's no
debate? My outrage has finally
boiled over. If these weapons
freaks really believe that,
through revisionist
interpretation, the 2nd Amendment
to the Constitution guarantees
them the right to possess a
human-killing machine used in
wartime (its only designed
purpose), then they are bereft of
all power of mortal reason,
which, by itself, should preclude
them from owning so much as a BB
gun. We need weapons in our
society like we need smallpox.
What we really need is sanity,
which translates to a total
firearms ban for civilians.
Period! All firearms, big and
small. No private ownership. No
exceptions. Just like in Europe.
We must demand it in the same
ways we demanded the end to the
Vietnam War, with violence if
necessary. No compromises and no
negotiations. Those days are
past, as is the era of Wyatt
Earp. The NRA must be made to
understand that America will no
longer be terrorized and held
hostage to their Alpha-Male
worship. Too much is more than
enough, and our society has had
more than enough gun carnage.
It's long past time to end it.
You no longer have to hunt for
food, venison and clothing. It's
the 21st Century. The chances are
great that you'll never be
accosted in your home by an
intruder, yet the danger of
accidents, especially with
children, remains high with
gun ownership. You want to sport
shoot? Then you rent, with all
the safety precautions that that
would entail. You're a collector?
Then the weapons must be
inoperative. And if you still
want to be a tough guy and have
access to firearms, then join the
Marines.
Privately
owned guns are not compatible
with an enlightened society,
their use to our lives having
been rendered obsolete. Privately
owned guns are potentially too
lethal and destructive, their
relevance having disappeared long
ago. And privately owned guns,
for the suffering left in their
paths, should be made illegal,
must be made illegal. The
alternative is one nightmare
after another. We have to make it
stop. Only then will I be able to
view the West Hollywood ban,
enacted years ago, as truly the
beginning of the end to this gun
madness.
|
