Bearing Arms
I have to admit, I lack the capacity to understand the entrenched controversy surrounding our Right to Bear Arms. The 2nd amendment was written in a time when guns were simpler (read: only 1 shot every minute or two) and we actually had a lawless frontier.
In the time it'll take me to write this numerous people will be shot and more than one will likely lose their life.
The power of the guns companies, the NRA, lobbyists and rabid gun owners to block any sensible change or addition of firearm laws is undeniable. Arguing "slippery slope" and peddling fear, while people die by the thousands every year, is unconscionable. Going against all common sense, laws were removed, enacted or changed to allow such things as gun ownership by the mentally ill, servicemen and women suffering from depression, lax concealed carry permits, laws against a nationwide database of offenders, and much more.
When we had a drunk driving epidemic, people rallied and deaths have dropped rather consistently in the 32 year sample period. Gun deaths were higher during that period and have not abated, any sane attempt to turn the tide has been thwarted. The ATF is now under attack, technology to mark bullets has been blocked, purchaser records are scrubbed offering no history, the CDC has been blocked from researching ways to lower deaths, and it doesn't end. The attacks on anything to limit guns sales come from all sides and every angle.
And I'm not saying we shouldn't have guns, that would be impossible at this point anyway. We must work together to enact sensible laws, that reflect the times in which we live for the safety of our Republic. Everyone's right to own a replaceable, inanimate object should not take precedence over the irreplaceable lives of our citizenry.
In the time it'll take me to write this numerous people will be shot and more than one will likely lose their life.
The power of the guns companies, the NRA, lobbyists and rabid gun owners to block any sensible change or addition of firearm laws is undeniable. Arguing "slippery slope" and peddling fear, while people die by the thousands every year, is unconscionable. Going against all common sense, laws were removed, enacted or changed to allow such things as gun ownership by the mentally ill, servicemen and women suffering from depression, lax concealed carry permits, laws against a nationwide database of offenders, and much more.
When we had a drunk driving epidemic, people rallied and deaths have dropped rather consistently in the 32 year sample period. Gun deaths were higher during that period and have not abated, any sane attempt to turn the tide has been thwarted. The ATF is now under attack, technology to mark bullets has been blocked, purchaser records are scrubbed offering no history, the CDC has been blocked from researching ways to lower deaths, and it doesn't end. The attacks on anything to limit guns sales come from all sides and every angle.
And I'm not saying we shouldn't have guns, that would be impossible at this point anyway. We must work together to enact sensible laws, that reflect the times in which we live for the safety of our Republic. Everyone's right to own a replaceable, inanimate object should not take precedence over the irreplaceable lives of our citizenry.