The NRA has already started bragging that they have House GOP members wrapped around their finger unwilling to budge on reasonable gun control laws. The Vice President was called in by the President to work with the NRA and other members of Congress to recommend what should be non-controversial measures: ban on assault rifles, ban on high round magazines, closing the gun show loophole and increased background checks that includes private sales as well as increased mental illness screenings.
Even after 20 children and 6 adults were slaughtered on December 14, 2012 in Newtown, the NRA does not feel moved by the annihilation to support any restrictions placed on purchasing or regulating guns. Nor do their ‘A’ rated members of Congress. They even came out with their own ‘gun video game’ aimed for audiences as young as four.
How easy is it to buy the influence of a Congressman? Apparently it’s pretty easy. With public opinion clear on banning assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, to most of us, this is a no-brainer. We want our children safe. Why do we have to fight a lobbying group whose only interest is to line their pockets using fear and scapegoating? And isn’t it sad that those who are supposed to be representing the people, have lost their way when it comes to protecting the individual rights of private citizens, especially those most vulnerable. Just because you can’t cast a ballot due to your age, doesn’t mean you’re any less of a citizen who deserves the right to certain protections. Unless you’re a fetus, in which case the GOP goes all out.
The mouths on the right, including Fox News commentator and former Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, wants to blame the violence in Newtown on the lack of god in schools. Mike appears to be in denial over the fact that mandatory public religion is a violation of the Constitution. But leave it up to these types to always pull religion or the lack of enforced religion into the landscape of tragedy in the hopes of proffering and opining a simplistic explanation. And in a double-take comment by Newsweek’s Megan McArdle, who thinks we should teach our children to run at the shooter in an effort to disarm them was a more effective solution than banning assault rifles. Sad.
Does race have anything to do with it? Gun homicide is the leading cause of death for black youths. Do we still have a race issue in this country as it pertains to protecting the lives of minority citizens? If Sandy Hook had been an all-black elementary school in Chicago, would be still be talking about it? Regardless, every politician in this country should care about protecting the lives of citizens first, even if they aren’t old enough to vote.
Whether it’s video games, movies, mental health or culture, the overwhelming majority in this country support reasonable laws and regulations surrounding guns. It’s important to address root causes in gun violence, but evenly important to address restrictions and regulations. Our children are worth that, aren’t they?
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