The image of the current version of this country around the world is that of a gun-happy, murderous, fascist state in which every weapon is available to everyone who wants to shoot up a crowd. If that perception is correct, why don’t we just get rid of the guns?
Protection. Security. Defense.
Murder. Suicide. The Second Amendment.
Hand wringing. Thoughts and prayers. Words, words, words.
Damn shame about the shooting that happened last week, yesterday, an hour ago.
We’ve heard it all. Endlessly. And still, over 40,000 people were murdered by gun violence in this country last year.
The difference in the discussion about guns between those who believe they should be banned and those who don’t is that the latter group doesn’t believe there is a gun problem — just a few isolated incidents. In a country where over 40,000 people die by gun violence each year.
That said, the folks who have the sense to believe that guns are the problem are too timid to make arguments against people who have guns. There’s a reason for that. All of those arguments use words. A well-aimed SIG Sauer P365 is mightier than every argument that uses words.
We’ve stopped being a civil society when it comes to guns. Blinded by some false notion about what the Second Amendment meant (because they’ve never read the one entire sentence that comprises the amendment, only the clause that kills), these Trump-sized, teeny-weeny penis strokers bellow for their right to protect themselves in any way possible, even if it kills them in the process.
It’s not about words. It’s not about statistics. It’s not about valid arguments. It’s not about the truth. It’s about fear-mongering, intimidation to the point of murder, and a one-party gun lobby. To be fair, there are some members of the Democratic Party that are members of the NRA, but they are few and far-pandering.
If it were about words, the Second Amendment would make more sense in context. The Revolutionary War was won, in part, by citizen-militias located in each of the colonies. Every man between the ages of 16–60 was a member of their official militia and, as such, were required to have their own firearm to be used in battle. In 1787, the phrase “bear arms” would have never have been used to represent “hunting rifles.” That term was solely a wartime phrase, intended to mean “muskets.”
“A well regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
There are too many commas and the sentence structure is weird, to say the least, but the idea here was that it was okay for the 13 state militias’ members to have weapons of war, just as today’s state National Guards members do. Thoughts of free-range gun ownership were shot down (pun not intended) time after time by the Supreme Court. When that hard line began to crumble under the weight of the threats posed by the National Rifle Association and the millions upon millions of dollars raised by its ultra-wealthy proponents, even the conservative Chief Justice Warren Burger called it “a fraud on the American Public.”
In fact, according to Michael Waldman at the Brennan Center for Justice:
Many are startled to learn that the U.S. Supreme Court didn’t rule that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to own a gun until 2008, when District of Columbia v. Heller struck down the capital’s law effectively banning handguns in the home. In fact, every other time the court had ruled previously, it had ruled otherwise.
Here’s how the argument system has failed:
Let’s say that a hypothetical shooting happens at an elementary school. Dozens die. Some are children under 7. The killer used a legal assault rifle, an AR-15.
Argument 1
A: “Ban assault rifles.”
B: “Why do you hate America?” (said while shooting A in the face)
Argument 2
A: “Ban assault rifles.”
B: “No.”
A: “Why not?”
B: “Because if the teachers had the same rifles, then those kids would still be alive.”
A: “That’s not true at all. In fact, more people would be dead.”
B: “How do you know? Arm the teachers with assault rifles and this will all stop.”
A: “That’s ridiculous.”
B: “Why do you hate America?” (said while shooting A in the face)
Argument 3
A: “Ban all guns except specific hunting rifles.”
B: “My AR-15 is a hunting rifle.”
A: “No, it’s not.”
B: “Why do you hate America?” (said while shooting A in the face)
As you can see, the answer is not going to come from words from the people. In America, we keep getting shot for saying words. We keep getting shot for peaceful protests. We keep getting shot for just sitting in a car nearby. We keep getting shot because we’re Black. Or Jewish. Or Trans. Or even supportive of Blacks, Jews, Trans, or anyone, frankly, that seems “other” to those who think guns are the answer. So they shoot us. Over and over. And the beating goes on.
An answer may lie in secession and establishment of Pacifica. But even in Pacifica, there will be fearful gun-toters who think they’re Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western. The disease of gun ownership has been in the system for a long time and I have no faith that anyone will actually do anything about it. As a country, the DSA is among the worst when it comes to gun murders.
But you already knew that. Everyone already knows that. The statistics are devastating, but still, after the next shooting, there will be a wringing of hands and thoughts and prayers.
I expect that if certain people were to read this column, I’d be shot tomorrow. That’ll show me.
As a member of the arts community, my question is: how can we use the arts as a tool to get rid of the guns? Or at the very least, to end gun violence? Or are thoughts and prayers all we’re going to ever get?
If you check snopes.com for the accuracy of the following YouTube video, you’ll see that they’ve proven it to be true (if you’re having trouble watching it, click here: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/guns-teddy-bears-consumer-safety/)…
The reason we can’t control bullies on the playground, in the board room, in Congress, or on the golden toilet in the White House, is that we’ve disarmed ourselves. Disarming ourselves doesn’t disarm them, now does it?
(If he didn’t enjoy it so much, I’d say that Little Donny Dingdong needs a spanking.)
I used to have a bumper sticker that read, “GOP=NRA=KKK/NO MORE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.” I was hassled just about every day by some anonymous nut or other, including those who tailgated the hell out of me — oddly, of course, proving my point.
2024 statistics counting the shooters, not the victims, like they matter…
- D.S.A.: 16,576 murderers by gun (excludes suicide)
- Canada: 286 murderers by gun (excludes suicide).
Come on, man. Enough with the guns already.
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