Pry Those Guns From Our Cold, Dead Fingers
BY Herschel Smith
9 years, 2 months ago
In 2012, 986 mass shootings ago, I wrote these words: “”In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.”
Now it’s time to talk about guns.
In the wake of the Umpqua Community College shooting, I had the unenviable task of appearing on CNN to defend the shooter’s mother, Laurel Harper, for sharing an entirely legal interest in firearms with her son.
Legal, but stupid.
Should Harper be blamed for her son’s actions? Of course not. Millions of parents share an interest in guns with their children. Harper did not have a crystal ball that could predict her son would become a mass shooter; in fact, it could be argued that mothers are the worst people to ask about their children’s weaknesses, because we prefer to focus, like Harper did, on our children’s strengths. Harper, who is grieving the loss of her son, the tenth victim of the shooting, couldn’t predict a mass shooting any better than anyone else can.
But was Harper irresponsible in how she owned and stored her guns? The clear answer is yes. Not because her son had a mental illness. Because all parents who own and store guns in their homes are irresponsible, regardless of whether anyone in the family has a mental illness.
What causes mass shootings? The same thing that causes 61% of all deaths by gun violence (suicides): easy access to guns. If no one in your family has suffered the negative effects of gun ownership, it’s not because you are a “responsible gun owner.” You are just lucky.
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Our Founding Fathers were reasonable men. They surely never imagined a country where an amendment designed to keep the British from invading, at a time when guns could only fire one shot at a time with questionable accuracy, would lead to almost weekly mass shootings of innocent citizens.
I hope that Laurel Harper will join moms across America in demanding action from Congress on gun control. I’m one of those moms. Please don’t shoot me.
Our founding fathers were criminals and seditionists in the eyes of the British government. And if they had the chance, they would have used any weapon at their disposal to shorten the war and ensure victory. Your propositions are ridiculous.
Furthermore, storing guns isn’t any more dangerous than, say, storing typical household cleaning supplies, which can also kill you. You just have to be responsible. And no, I don’t believe in federal laws concerning the storage of household chemicals. There is no inalienable right to wise parents. Your propositions are ridiculous.
As for “please don’t shoot me,” I’m certainly okay with that, as long as you don’t come into my home and attempt to confiscate my guns. Do we agree?
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On October 13, 2015 at 12:31 am, Backwoods Engineer said:
But the HuffPo types OWN the media. And their disarmist drums are sounding louder and louder every day. How long before some collectivist state government kicks off the festivities by ordering mass house-to-house confiscation? How long before the Supreme Court overturns Heller and McDonald in a single 5-4 (the other way) ruling?
This is going to come to blows before long.
On October 14, 2015 at 7:38 pm, Phil Ossiferz Stone said:
As soon as Gavin Newsom is elected governor of California. Remember you heard it here first.
On October 13, 2015 at 6:52 am, McThag said:
Yes, the founders were reasonable men, and left a procedure in their design to make changes as required.
I know that not even the gun banners think the changes are really required because they have not even attempted to pass an amendment that nullifies the 2nd.
On October 13, 2015 at 5:00 pm, William T Quick said:
That’s only because they’ve been so successful at nullifying it by other means. Just as with the War on (Some) Drugs.
It took a constitutional amendment to ban alcohol. It’s taken only a few waves of the bureaucratic and legislative wand to ban other, identical in nature drugs.
Now they’re doing it to the Second, as well.
On October 13, 2015 at 8:52 pm, SunwolfNC said:
Yep – death by a thousand cuts of regulations, laws and statutes
On October 13, 2015 at 10:46 pm, William T Quick said:
Every one of them unconstitutional.
On October 14, 2015 at 9:52 am, USMC69 said:
Please list those 986 shootings you were referencing in 2012. The 2nd Amendment isn’t about the government giving us a right. It was just codifying that right every free person has. The “Bill of Rights” are irrevocable rights that every free citizen of the USA has. But as most progressives/liberals do, they want to rewrite history and the dictionary to fit their agenda.
On October 19, 2015 at 3:39 pm, Jack Crabb said:
I call BS on the “986 mass shootings.” That equates very roughly to about one per day. Even libturd math can’t make that happen.
On October 22, 2015 at 4:09 pm, USMC69 said:
Why do you think I asked him to list them? Obviously they don’t exist or we’d be hearing about it 24/7.
On October 17, 2015 at 9:47 pm, will_ford said:
Do these moronic clowns know anything about history and their GOD given rights?? Like Ben Franklin said they DESERVE NEITHER!