Too busy working this morning , I didn’t find out about the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT, until I went out to lunch and checked the Drudge Report. It was a shocking, heinous, and cowardly act, made even more reprehensible by the death of innocent children. My heartfelt and sincere sympathy goes out to the families of all the victims of this tragedy, and I pray that God helps them to eventually find solace in the happy memories of their departed.
Sadly, there’s already been a number of calls, particularly among Liberal Democrats, for “meaningful action“, “stricter gun laws“, or the outright banning of automatic weapons* – calls sure to increase in both number and intensity during the coming weeks. It may turn out that some additional regulations might actually be needed, and I’m glad to live in a society where our First Amendment allows individuals to voice their opinions, participate in lively debate, and assemble with others to communicate a well-considered position. And, where our Second Amendment gives us the right “…to keep and bear arms…”, to protect Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness.
However, before anyone considers tighter, possibly onerous, gun control laws a fait accompli, consider the following chart:
It’s definitely an eye-opener, despite my forgetting to add Deaths by Influenza (about 30,000 per year). And, once again, it exposes the Hypocrisy of the Liberal: Restricting the right of women to not only kill innocent babies but to do so at taxpayer expense is an “attack on women” and a slippery slope whose eventual result will be a return to the dark ages of back alley procedures… but, restricting the Second Amendment to prevent the killing of innocent people is not only acceptable, but both necessary and overdue. (BTW: The number shown for Legal Abortions is almost certainly too low: Unlike gun deaths, reporting abortions to the CDC is voluntary)
Personally, I apologize for this blog entry: Rather than engage in political rhetoric or emotional hyperbole on gun control, this is a time to pray, hope or wish that the innocent victims are in a far better place and, more importantly, that their earthly survivors find their own spiritual “better place”. However, after a suitable and respectful period of mourning and reflection, I hope Liberals will appreciate the hypocritical nature of their anti-gun stance, Conservatives will remember that even Constitutional Amendments can be amended, and both will view gun control in it’s proper context.
* Which the United States had from 1994 to 2004 – and, apparently, provided “…insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of any of the firearms laws or combinations of laws reviewed on violent outcomes.”
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