In Virginia, a cop was killed the other day.
She was killed leaving the police station, in their parking lot. She and other cops were ambushed by a man who had escaped from a group home. He had with him a hunting rifle and an M16. After killing her, and wounding other cops, he was finally killed.
Is there any carnage so great, so hideous, that we will finally recognize the insanity of letting people have easy access to powerful weapons? At what point do we say enough?
4 comments:
Because I'm married to a hunter who adores his rifles .. I have mixed feelings about the laws (at least in Canada). Why is it that the law is crunched down on the abiding citizens, yet the criminals will always find a way to by pass such laws and find some hot piece for themselves.
I'm not opposed to hunters. I don't understand the fascination, but I'm not opposed to people hunting. What I'm opposed to is regular people -- ie, not in the formal military -- having possession of powerful weaponry like the M16.
In the US, the thrust of the argument against gun control seems to be that since the vast majority of gun owners are just normal people who would never use their weapons in an unsafe or hostile manner, therefore guns should not be controlled. I disagree. Guns are inherently dangerous. Gun owners should have the same restrictions as car owners -- licensed, proven ability, not used in a dangerous manner.
That said, I agree that criminals seem to have easy access. Certainly, that seems to be the case this time. That does not mean that restrictions don't work. Waiting periods work. Gun show background checks work. I don't think there IS one single good solution, just as there is not just one single good way to keep a child safe. You layer -- doing a little here, what seems reasonable there.
And whether a hunter agrees with the foregoing or not, surely anyone would agree that a weapon like an M16 isn't a hunting tool. There's no justification for private ownership. (Thats something the National Rifle Association doesn't agree with, either. )
The culture's got to change, but its hard to argue with money -- and the NRA has a lot of it to spread around. Even slaughtered schoolchildren doesn't make them change, or even moderate, their tune. Individually, they're sorry when something evil happens; collectively, they're steadfast and stubborn -- '...when they pry my cold fingers off it' is their mantra.
I just realized that I believe the laws are alot different in the USA then here. Here it's not common at all for people to have a hand gun. There's more hunters with rifles, and the laws to own them are very strict as well. A possesion license, an active hunting license, etc. Handguns need an extra license as well and each time the gunholder wants to go to the range with it or take it out of their home at all, they must get a special carrying license that expires after a certain time (day usually).
Like you said .. there's no reason whatsoever for any person to own or carry a gun such as the M16. It's made to destroy .. period.
This reminds me of that newly released movie with Nicholas Cage. I can't remember the title off hand, but it had "war" in it. He sold guns to countries that were in war. It was one crazy movie. I can see the underlying reasons that kept him selling and in turn made him richer. It's the way the government thinks to. Sad.
There are some topics that arise that I'm pretty passionate about even if it's reasoning is second hand. I don't mean to bombard you with emails. :)
Actually, I enjoy it. Thanks for your thoughts.
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