Many liberals give me grief for liking guns. In case you're new here, I grew up in rural Virginia, in a very conservative environment. I was given a .22 rifle for my 7th birthday, and I own a number of weapons today - including a handgun. Owning and using guns is part of living in rural America, and I make no apologies for that.
The problem is that the NRA wants any novice to be able to buy an assault rifle, with no training or background check. While they claim that every gun owner undergoes screening, that simply is not true.
When the 2nd Amendment was ratified, America was a country where muskets and cannons were the weapons of the time. Conservatives scream about protecting gun rights, but they are the worst spokesmen for gun rights. Rather than promoting the responsible and lawful ownership of firearms, they have made it possible for anyone who wants to get their hands on a gun, and we're seeing the tragic results of that over and over again in the daily news.
Gun ownership shouldn't a liberal or conservative thing, our nation has a long history with firearms - both good and bad. Unfortunately, our country has a serious issue with gun violence, and all the lobbying by the NRA is making it worse.
The pro-gun side is using the logical fallacy of "false dilemma" by making it appear that the only two options here are "total gun ban" or "do nothing" and using the threat of "total gun ban" to justify their paranoia and rigidity in refusing to even consider the hundreds of options that lie between the two extremes. This isn't being done by accident, either. It's carefully orchestrated by the gun lobby to keep people freaked out and the cash register ringing. Follow the money.
ReplyDeleteAs a gun owner (and a very blue liberal - it's not a contradiction), I entirely agree with your post. I would, without question, support a verification system like our driver's licenses. They would follow the same rules across the country, be immediately accessible by law enforcement (and vendors), and could require additional licensing for 'advanced' firearms (driving a forklift, motorcycle, 18-wheeler, etc - owning a pistol, semi-auto, "assault" weapon). The NRA is a horrible group to judge our entire demographic with. They are clearly doing more harm than good. Thank you for the excellent post about this matter (and I'm stealing your meme).
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