Even though I'm writing this a month ago I'm sure by now there'll have been another gun rampage. That just seems to be the sad reality of our world anymore. Which every time there's another rampage there are cries to do something. Unfortunately just about all the ideas people have are completely unrealistic. I'm just going to go into a few of them.
1. No Guns for Anyone! There are always people screaming about this, usually paranoid NRA members. The obvious problem is you can't take away all the guns because thanks to the NRA there are so many out there already. And of course like Prohibition with alcohol there would just be a rise in illegal gun sales.
2. Guns for Everyone! This is the NRA solution to the problem. Just let everyone have guns like the Wild West. Then we'll be "safe." At the start of the year, this is pretty much what Texas is doing with its "open carry" law. Anyone who gets a permit (and they're super easy to get) can walk around pretty much everywhere with a six-shooter on their hip. The thing is, unless that someone is wearing a police or military uniform, seeing them carrying a gun in plain sight makes me feel much less safe. Because you simply don't know if that person is good and responsible or some lunatic or otherwise nasty person. At the same time, when people get pissed off at each other, introducing guns into the situation just makes it more likely to end badly; you hear stories about that in Detroit all the time: there's a family gathering or class reunion or some other get-together and people whip out their guns and you end up with someone dead. There's a reason the Wild West is in the distant past.
3. Fascism Rules: This is one of my somewhat tongue-in-cheek proposals. Basically just spend the money to put tons of police on the street and cameras everywhere. Increase surveillance to make the NSA listening program seem like two kids with tin cans and string. Then we'll pretty a lot "safer." No one will have any freedom, but we'll be safe, right? And that's more important...maybe.
4. Bring Back the Draft: Another idea I came up with when someone was talking about how people with military training can help prevent mass shootings. Basically do like we used to do, or Israel does now, and make everyone do 2 years in the military. Then they get professional training in self-defense and learn how to use guns responsibly. Plus we'll have plenty of fresh meat when Donald Trump decides to invade China. The drawback for young people is obvious, plus since we don't bother taking care of vets when they get back, you'd have a lot more people with PTSD who might flip out on us.
But maybe somewhere between all these extremes we can figure something out. Some people say, "Well why bother? It won't work." And my response is always that you have to start somewhere. If you'd banned assault rifles five or six massacres ago, you might not have so many people murdered now. Basically what we do now is like me when my doctor says I should lose weight: Meh, it won't work, so why try? In a country with so many obese people I guess it's pretty obvious that we have no self-control whether it comes to snacking or firearms.
1 comment:
One of my ideas is more security in public places. If I was in charge of any sort of building..a store, a movie theater, a school, etc. I would have armed security. As far as carrying, why not carry something like a taser instead of a gun. Something that can stop a shooter without killing them...for the general public. Perhaps if people get creative, we can find some solutions. For the most part, I blame the media. They make it attractive. They make it so a sick individual can become famous. Al for ratings as usual.
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