One of the main reasons why there is so much gun violence in this country is that people are simply irresponsible with guns. The gun community can't seem to get their head around this fact. This recent piece illustrates just how bad it is.
In October GOP congresswoman Renee Ellmers reported that her gun had gone missing from her Kansas home. Ellmers, who left her AR-15 leaning against a locker in her unlocked garage, is an avid gun rights supporter. She claims that gun owners, like herself, are totally responsible and don’t need the government interfering in their business. As it turns out, however, Ellmers, like too many other gun owners, isn’t as responsible as she claims. Hopefully, her missing gun will not be used to murder someone. But even if it does, surely we can’t blame her? She’s a “responsible” gun owner, after all.
After Missouri House staffer, Dave Evans, left his loaded gun in the men’s restroom of the State Capital Building on September 23, 2013, the incident drew a brief flurry of national media attention. It also drew the typical right-wing responses about all the “responsible gun owners” in the world. Except, you know, when they leave the gun in the bathroom…
The whole article is filled with incidents like this. My personal favorite is the one about the criminal who scolded the "responsible" gun owner. The saddest ones were stories like this.
Let's set aside the paranoia and pathological hatred of the federal government and leave the religion about the 2nd amendment behind forever. The current laws regarding firearms are not working because people are simply not responsible enough to live up to them.
4 comments:
What percentage of gun owners is that "irresponsible"? What percentage does it have to be to properly justify stripping all citizens of their fundamental right of self-defense?
BTW, there is more to the story
Ellmers spokesman Thomas Doheny says the congresswoman was in Washington when the rifle was stolen but declined to discuss details, citing the ongoing police investigation. He added that, as a mother, Ellmers is concerned that the rifle was left unsecured.
"Her family is very big on gun safety and she wants to get to the bottom of this herself," Doheny said.
So they didn't have the gun locked up in a safe within their own home. (In a neighborhood without a pattern of breakins.) What about the guy who entered the house illegally to steal stuff? Do you also accuse rape victims of causing the rape if they dress attractively (but modestly) and have to pass a dark alley on an otherwise well lit route?
Mark in a nutshell
The MAIN reason there's so much "gun violence" is because of CRIMINALS, you pathetic, drooling excuse for a teacher. It's almost half, I repeat, half what it was 20 years ago. It approaching near historic lows despite all of the "blood in the street" rhetoric your side of the gun-control debate has been shrieking as predictions for every hard-fought victory for gun rights in this country. You'd think by now you'd stop and re-assess your position, but your sort never, ever do. Accidental firearms injuries are also at historic lows since record-keeping was introduced in 1903.
Well, then, obviously the solution to THAT is more Federal control! 'Cuz the magic fairy dust of government authority works wonders:
DHS report on lost firearms notes careless handling
U.S. Park Police Lost Track of 1,400 Guns, According to Internal Investigation
Audit faults state's handling of lent-out guns
U.S. says DNR lost track of 761 firearms, creating risk
ATF Lost Guns, Computers
That's just "lost" as in "we have no idea what happened to them", quite unlike the ones deliberately lost in Fast and Furious US: ATF misplaced 420 million cigarettes in stings. They can't even be trusted enough to keep track of cigarettes and millions of dollars in their own "sting" operations.
As far as "pathological hatred of the Federal government" trope you keep dropping like horse apples all over your site, you might be surprised at how many of your commenters work or have worked for the Federal government. So far as I can tell, none of them are anarchists. Just because people think the Federal government is already more than big enough and powerful enough, and indeed so bloated that it can't even do what it's supposed to do all that well, is not "pathological hatred of the Federal government". One might better speak of your pathological and unnatural love for Federal power and control, the kind of love that dare not speak its name.
One of the main reasons why there is so much gun violence in this country is that people are simply irresponsible with guns. The gun community can't seem to get their head around this fact.
Fact? Really? Main reason? Really?
Completely unsubstantiated statements do not equal fact.
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