... life.
Going to a movie. Going to the midnight showing of a new movie. Not expecting there to be a lunatic armed to the teeth and prepared for combat (armor, including throat and groin protection, and a gasmask for the smoke bombs he would set off). As of this writing there are twelve innocent people dead, just watching the wrong movie in the wrong theater on the wrong night.
And to think Fred Willard was cited for lewd conduct in a theater just a day earlier. Shows you where our priorities lay.
This was a tragedy waiting to happen in that the laws we have regarding gun control have been written by special interest groups promoting a gun ownership agenda because it increases profits. It's a sad day in America when we put profit over lives, but it happens... whether we're watching it or not.
I love guns. I don't own any, as I have a 4 year old whom I don't trust with the telephone let alone a firearm. I have fired guns before, and enjoy it. Hell, I think I'm a pretty decent shot. But I wouldn't mind sitting through a background check in order to purchase a weapon when the time comes. And I would DEFINITELY feel safer having everyone else, regardless of state they're from, go through a background check. This includes private purchases as well, like at gun shows. It may slow down people's profit but in the interest of public safety I think this is fair. In fact, sell just about any type of weapon. Just have a sliding scale of intensity for background checks.
Right now, we as a country are fracturing along political lines. Even in our family there are people we cannot have civil political discourse with because we are too liberal in their eyes. To me that's a real tragedy, because it's in our discussions we can achieve comprimise. And what do we have to fear from comprimise? Fear itself.
Additional reading links:
Federal Observer - "Criminals use loophole to get guns"
Washington Times - "'Straw Buyers' plead guilty to dealing guns"
Well stated Wookie, though chances are good this guy passed those sorts of requirements for his firearms. I don't believe guns are the problem here though. I also will probably scream the first time I hear someone pin the blame on the film "The Dark Knight Rises." Those poor people could have been watching Winnie the Pooh and very same thing might have happened. The sad fact is some people are evil, or crazy, or both. And this bastard was smart enough to ask himself where he could find a big crowd in the evening and that's where he went. Until we as a society and country can get a better handle on recognizing and treating mental illness, we are gonna have these kinds of ticking time bombs walking around, ready to open fire on people who's only crime was stepping out their front doors.
ReplyDeleteI was waiting on the Rush Limbaughs of our current discourse... err... dysfunction... to try and claim that this was created by the Obama administration to take away weapons.
DeleteI want people investigated if they're wanting to by a semiauto rifle. I want them to have a mental background check. Jared Loughner, the arsehole in Tucson, bought his weapon legally, as did the germ in Aurora. Both may have been stopped (Jared Loughner probably, as he was unhinged and demonstrated this to his college) but we'll never know because the lobbyists really want more money from more gun sales.
I agree with the mental illness and how its treated in our society and our medical system. Hopefully the Affordable Care Act will go into effect and we can start seeing a positive change in our healthcare system. Remember, they hated Medicare and Social Security too.