Word of the Day - "Violence"
From the streets of the East Bay, to the Oakland Coliseum, and all the way to Capitol Hill – "Violence" seems to be the word of the day.
The Assault Rifle ban expired yesterday. The N.R.A claims that the ban had no significant impact on the crime rate in America. I don’t know about you, but I would not want some "nut job" across the street collecting semi-automatic weapons for fun. Fortunately for us, Californians, the expired ban had no affect on our state. We have our own state laws to protect us from these violent weapons. Civilians, in my opinion, have no reason to own weapons like Uzi’s and AK-47’s. It doesn’t take that many bullets to kill a deer or a duck. When I was in the military, I learned first hand the power and the responsibility of carrying a weapon. I took countless hours of training on weapons; both in classroom settings and on the shooting range. Now, by letting this ban expire, this have allowed people to purchase deadly weapons and use them with no formal training, no supervision, and no experience on how to use them. People with mental problems can now purchase these types of weapons. It’s truly a shame. President Bush ignored a reporter’s question on the issue yesterday during one of his campaign stops. And what about the Senate and Congress? Why is it that only Diane Feinstein the one who is outraged about this issue? Where are the other lawmakers (both Democrats and Republicans)? N.R.A. money sure goes a long way. Let’s all thank Charlton Heston!
Meanwhile, in the city of Hayward, 2 people were shot dead after an argument in, of all places, a cemetery. Again, guns were involved.
A few hours after the Hayward incident, a Texas Ranger’s pitcher was jailed overnight for throwing a chair in the stands during an Oakland A’s game. No guns were involved, but violence was certainly in the air.
It’s a shame what the country has become.
The Assault Rifle ban expired yesterday. The N.R.A claims that the ban had no significant impact on the crime rate in America. I don’t know about you, but I would not want some "nut job" across the street collecting semi-automatic weapons for fun. Fortunately for us, Californians, the expired ban had no affect on our state. We have our own state laws to protect us from these violent weapons. Civilians, in my opinion, have no reason to own weapons like Uzi’s and AK-47’s. It doesn’t take that many bullets to kill a deer or a duck. When I was in the military, I learned first hand the power and the responsibility of carrying a weapon. I took countless hours of training on weapons; both in classroom settings and on the shooting range. Now, by letting this ban expire, this have allowed people to purchase deadly weapons and use them with no formal training, no supervision, and no experience on how to use them. People with mental problems can now purchase these types of weapons. It’s truly a shame. President Bush ignored a reporter’s question on the issue yesterday during one of his campaign stops. And what about the Senate and Congress? Why is it that only Diane Feinstein the one who is outraged about this issue? Where are the other lawmakers (both Democrats and Republicans)? N.R.A. money sure goes a long way. Let’s all thank Charlton Heston!
Meanwhile, in the city of Hayward, 2 people were shot dead after an argument in, of all places, a cemetery. Again, guns were involved.
A few hours after the Hayward incident, a Texas Ranger’s pitcher was jailed overnight for throwing a chair in the stands during an Oakland A’s game. No guns were involved, but violence was certainly in the air.
It’s a shame what the country has become.
5 Comments:
If you look at it from the perspective of the founding fathers, the "right to bear arms" is kind of an antiquated law in a sense. That was in there so we could overthrow a king or dictator, right?
I don't know the best way to deal with this issue, but I do believe two things:
1) the general public has no earthly reason to own a semi-automatic weapon--these things were created to kill people!
2) if someone wants one bad enough, they will always be able to find a way to get these semi-automatic weapons, ban or no ban
The ban on assault weapons made it tougher on people to actually purchase them. But now, they can probably go at their local WalMart to buy these guns. The N.R.A. will find a way to release these weapons and spread them to the public. What we need now are tight background checks on all buyers.
I'm not a big fan of the NRA either, I think they take the whole "right to bear arms" thing way too seriously. I don't understand how one can view a gun being such an essential part of life. Guns are cool, but come now...owning a semi-automatic goes much farther than "collecting" or "hunting," whether you like it or not.
Dave, you sound like you're a big fan of Moore...ever see Bowling for Columbine? Don't like Moore all that much, but I think you might appreciate the movie more than I did.
"Bowling for Columbine" is one of my Top Ten Favorite movies of all time. It's a sad & scary film when you think about how much pain and suffering guns have inflicted on innocent kids and people in general. But, the NRA are not the only ones to be blamed for the violence in America. Lack of family values and moral standards have brought us to the state of the country today.
Very true. I also found it very interesting that the basis of Moore's argument focused on the fear that is constantly instilled into the hearts of the American people. I never really looked at it that way, but it seems like the TV media is always looking for the messed up stories to air. I found that really interesting, though I'm sure that there's much more into play when it comes to leading into gun violence.
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