**UPDATE**
No new real input from me, but I stumbled on this link that pretty much nails my thoughts on the issue. It's complicated yes, but it doesn't have to be so hard.
**
We interrupt our normal bloggings for some real talk...
I try to mostly keep this blog on the rails and off of the controversy superhighway. But I've got to dip a little closer to the action than I normally do. I've been simmering on this for months and just got pushed over the edge. While I loooooove me some social media, I think it's making a lot of us less informed, less civilized, and endlessly more insensitive.
I've noticed for some time that any time there's any type of "hot-button" issue, social media (mainly Facebook and Twitter) is an easy place to engage/respond. And if this year's NYC Marathon is any indicator, it's a very effective tool to drive change. "That's great! Encourage some discourse", you may be saying. I agree completely, and think that some forum for level-headed discussion would be good for both sides of any issue, but you obviously haven't looked at the grammar error laden, hateful, and misinformed garbage that often permeates those discussions. And in the wake of the more recent incidents of gun violence and mass murders, kooks are coming out of the woodwork. Plenty of my "friends" on Facebook have starkly different views than me, and that's perfectly fine. It's what makes the world go 'round.
But....some of their views are being directly pulled from super nutty people that are making their way into mainstream news. And seriously, why are you liking all of these gun sites/posts/pictures/quotes from Hitler? Did the loss of those 26 lives at Sandy Hook make you like guns THAT MUCH MORE, or have you always liked them but now feel the need to tell everyone that you do indeed need an assault rifle and will shoot anyone who tries to take it away. Or hope to be locked and loaded in a movie theater with another shooter (that didn't pan out so well). Let's not even start on Alex Morgan and his tirade. Wow, right?
Newsflash to all those claiming that criminals don't follow gun laws. No sh!t, Sherlock. However, none of the recent round of mass/school/theater shooters have been criminals. Not a one. They've been people that acquired high-powered, assault rifles legally (or they weren't properly secured at home), which means the type of gun control laws being discussed would have made a difference. Now I know that we have the 2nd Amendment protecting the right to bear arms, but can you give me a convincing argument as to why we need the right to own assault rifles with massive clips? Isn't it fair to say that loss of life could have been limited if these shooters didn't have access to the weapons they used? I'm not one that wants to own a gun period, but I understand that some people want to protect themselves and feel that a gun is a way to do that. Or go out and shoot Bambi. Or go out and shoot clay pigeons or targets at the gun range. But please tell me why any of those things would require the need for a semi-automatic weapon. Seriously, I'd like to get a side of that argument that makes a shred of sense.
I stand firmly behind the president's recent recommendations on gun law reform (you can check out the details and highlights at the bottom of this page), but realize the state of our society and more importantly congress will probably stop most or all of these changes from happening (hooray!) so I'll leave it at this: I completely understand that this is a complex issue that's more than just gun control, but please use some common sense here, people. No one is trying to snatch up your guns. Let's have a meaningful discussion. If there are some things that we as a country can to to keep a parent or brother or wife from having to deal with the inexplicable pain that comes from a lost loved one to gun violence, we should act like open-minded, reasonable people. And get it done. Right now.
Jon Stewart seems to have a grasp of things, it really doesn't need to be this hard...
No new real input from me, but I stumbled on this link that pretty much nails my thoughts on the issue. It's complicated yes, but it doesn't have to be so hard.
**
We interrupt our normal bloggings for some real talk...
I try to mostly keep this blog on the rails and off of the controversy superhighway. But I've got to dip a little closer to the action than I normally do. I've been simmering on this for months and just got pushed over the edge. While I loooooove me some social media, I think it's making a lot of us less informed, less civilized, and endlessly more insensitive.
I've noticed for some time that any time there's any type of "hot-button" issue, social media (mainly Facebook and Twitter) is an easy place to engage/respond. And if this year's NYC Marathon is any indicator, it's a very effective tool to drive change. "That's great! Encourage some discourse", you may be saying. I agree completely, and think that some forum for level-headed discussion would be good for both sides of any issue, but you obviously haven't looked at the grammar error laden, hateful, and misinformed garbage that often permeates those discussions. And in the wake of the more recent incidents of gun violence and mass murders, kooks are coming out of the woodwork. Plenty of my "friends" on Facebook have starkly different views than me, and that's perfectly fine. It's what makes the world go 'round.
But....some of their views are being directly pulled from super nutty people that are making their way into mainstream news. And seriously, why are you liking all of these gun sites/posts/pictures/quotes from Hitler? Did the loss of those 26 lives at Sandy Hook make you like guns THAT MUCH MORE, or have you always liked them but now feel the need to tell everyone that you do indeed need an assault rifle and will shoot anyone who tries to take it away. Or hope to be locked and loaded in a movie theater with another shooter (that didn't pan out so well). Let's not even start on Alex Morgan and his tirade. Wow, right?
Newsflash to all those claiming that criminals don't follow gun laws. No sh!t, Sherlock. However, none of the recent round of mass/school/theater shooters have been criminals. Not a one. They've been people that acquired high-powered, assault rifles legally (or they weren't properly secured at home), which means the type of gun control laws being discussed would have made a difference. Now I know that we have the 2nd Amendment protecting the right to bear arms, but can you give me a convincing argument as to why we need the right to own assault rifles with massive clips? Isn't it fair to say that loss of life could have been limited if these shooters didn't have access to the weapons they used? I'm not one that wants to own a gun period, but I understand that some people want to protect themselves and feel that a gun is a way to do that. Or go out and shoot Bambi. Or go out and shoot clay pigeons or targets at the gun range. But please tell me why any of those things would require the need for a semi-automatic weapon. Seriously, I'd like to get a side of that argument that makes a shred of sense.
I stand firmly behind the president's recent recommendations on gun law reform (you can check out the details and highlights at the bottom of this page), but realize the state of our society and more importantly congress will probably stop most or all of these changes from happening (hooray!) so I'll leave it at this: I completely understand that this is a complex issue that's more than just gun control, but please use some common sense here, people. No one is trying to snatch up your guns. Let's have a meaningful discussion. If there are some things that we as a country can to to keep a parent or brother or wife from having to deal with the inexplicable pain that comes from a lost loved one to gun violence, we should act like open-minded, reasonable people. And get it done. Right now.
Jon Stewart seems to have a grasp of things, it really doesn't need to be this hard...
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