In the wake of two highly publicized mass shootings last week and the week before, polls show that most Americans are still against gun control. I'm an American too and I just don't get it. Are we crazy? What kind of freedom are we protecting by allowing practically anybody strong enough to pull a trigger to carry a gun?A week ago Friday, Jiverly Wong,a Vietnamese immigrant, walked into The American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY and fired off 98 shots killing 13 innocent people. Wong had been taking English classes at the Association and was upset at having recently lost a job. He was the licensed owner of two semi-automatic handguns--a .45 and a 9 mm. How come? What did this guy need two high powered semi automatics for? Well, we found out the hard way, didn't we?
Last week in Pittsburgh, Richard Poplawski, killed three police officers with his AK47. The guy was paranoid, had been discharged from the army because of anger management issues, frequented racist and anti semitic websites and was clearly unstable. How come a guy like this was able to amass a cache of guns and ammunition-- all purchased legally and fully licensed? He was a disaster waiting to happen.
Get a grip my fellow Americans. We have the highest gun murder and suicide rates in the developed world. It's easier for an American teenager to buy a gun than a pack of cigarettes. If we don't rethink gun control and do something to keep guns out of the hands of whackos like Poplawski and Wong, we really are crazy.
3 comments:
There's no *legitimate* reason for any individual in the U.S. to be able to buy an automatic weapon. Period.
The argument that the hallowed Second Amendment guarantees private citizens the right to own *any* type of firearm is BS regurgitated ad nauseum by gun manufacturers and the lobbyists they employ to keep *their* coffers filled, not to keep people out of graveyards.
Automatic weapons only have one purpose - to kill people. Until enough Americans "get" this, we're as crazy as the whackjobs that use them to mow down innocent victims en masse.
Agreed-- however I need to say that I totally understand the desire of people in rural areas to have guns for hunting and/or protection. I just think that they should be much harder to obtain and nobody,except maybe a cop, needs an AK47. We are crazy because we make it so easy for guns to get into the wrong hands and if keeping guns away from crazies means banning guns for everyone, so be it! Thanks for your comment, Jama
I hope that president Obama will change that nonsense soon, or we'll never move from wild west mentality.
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