Time to Take Back Common Sense

Enough.  Enough.  Enough.  I’ve had enough of the gun lobby and the National Rifle Association dictating gun control policy in our country.  The 2^nd Amendment was ratified in 1791 when it took 30 seconds to re-load a musket.  In 30 seconds Adam Lanza murdered 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut (a town founded in 1771, by the way).  In 1776 our nation’s founders also approved of slavery and refused the right to vote to women.  But times change, attitudes change, technology changes.  What may have been acceptable in 1776 was not acceptable in 1865, when the 13^th Amendment was passed banning slavery, and in 1920 when the 19^th Amendment was ratified giving women the right to vote.  It is now time we made serious changes to the 2^nd Amendment of the Constitution. 

The National Rifle Association will resist any political effort to bring a rationale gun policy to reality.  So I would ask them this – what will it take to agree to reasonable gun control legislation?  Will someone have to kill 4-month old babies in a day care center to get your attention?  How about Alzheimer patients in a convalescent hospital?

What did the NRA have to say about the violence at Sandy Hook Elementary?  Here is the NRA’s news update from December 14.  

That’s right.  The NRA said nothing.  Nothing about the horror perpetrated by their strict hold on scared American politicians.  No comment of sympathy.  Not an ounce of care for the victims.  It may be that there is no amount of heinousness or evil that will budge the NRA from their defense of the 2^nd Amendment. 

And where are the politicians the NRA hold in their pockets?  On Meet the Press this morning, 31 US Senators that hold rigid 2^nd Amendment positions were all invited to the show to discuss the issue.  And can you guess how many were willing to go on Meet the Press this morning?  None.  None.  All 31 refused to come on the show.  Pathetic. 

But I believe Americans have had enough.  Enough of evil followed by mass funerals.  Enough of horror followed by deep sorrow and a lifetime of loss.  And enough of the NRA and their politicians taking no responsibility for the consequences of their power over common sense. 

So what do we do about this?  What will make significant and meaningful change?  Here are some changes that I believe will move our country to a safer place. 

•  Assault weapons banned from sale in the United States. 

•  Existing assault weapons confiscated and destroyed.  Each assault weapon owner will be reimbursed up to $750 for his or her gun, regardless of value or condition.  Assault weapon owners will have six-months to voluntarily turn in their weapon to local authorities.  After that, anyone found in possession of an assault weapon will serve a mandatory 2-year prison sentence. 

• Bullet clips holding greater than 10 bullets banned from sale.  Owners of bullet clips holding greater than 10 bullets will have six-months to voluntarily turn in their clip to local authorities.  After that, anyone found in possession of a bullet clip holding greater than 10 bullets will serve a mandatory 12-month prison sentence.  

• Federal and state background checks required before purchasing any gun, with a mandatory 30 day waiting period.

• Review of all existing federal and state issued gun permits, including an updated background check and interview of the registered gun owner by state or federal authorities.

•  Gun show gun sales banned.  This will close the loophole in existing laws that allow gun sales at gun shows without permits or background checks.

• Implement strict laws requiring a minimum of 3 years in jail for anyone caught with an illegal or unregistered gun.  New York State has such a law, and the murder rate in New York City has declined every year since 1992. 

• Mandatory six-month jail sentence for possession of a firearm within 500 yards of a school.

Will such changes be difficult to enforce?  Yes they will.  But so is burying six-year old children brutally murdered in their classrooms by a man with an assault weapon. 

I’m writing to my congresswoman, senators and state representatives to demand their action.  I urge you to do the same.  It is time to take back common sense.  

The "Guns and Bitter" Crowd

"And it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." -- Barack Obama

The words of President Obama when he was candidate Obama almost ruined his presidential hopes. He made the statement on the campaign trail and the uproar nearly derailed his campaign. Republicans and Hilary Clinton formed an unusual partnership and jointly rubbed Obama's nose in the words, telling the American voters that Obama was "out of touch," "elitist," and "too liberal" to lead the country. They tried to tie Obama to the San Francisco Pelosi chardonnay drinking, brie eating crowd and the political damage was done. Candidate Obama had to stop his campaign and respond to the attacks from his left and right.

He obviously did an adequate job of damage control, since we now know "the rest of the story." But isn't it interesting to read that statement today and then watch the Republican Tea Party reaction to the Obama presidency at health care and tax day protests? How prescient was President Obama when he made that statement? Look at the Republican Tea Party protests this past year and you find the following: a bunch of anti-immigrant, anti-tax, anti-government, anti-you don't look like me protesters, some carrying handguns and rifles, many carrying signs stating "God is not a Muslim, but Obama is," and proclaiming they want their country back.

Bitter.

Clinging to their guns and religion.

Racist.

Xenophobic.

Frustrated that an African-American is their President.

And now we approach April 19, the 15th anniversary of the worst terror attack ever carried out against our country -- the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City by Timothy McVeigh and a few other domestic terrorists. I believe this act against our country was worse than the 9/11 attacks because it was carried out by American citizens against their own country. The 9/11 attacks killed more people and had greater impact on how we live our lives, but there is something about American citizens, former members of our military, building a crude bomb and setting it off in front of a federal building and killing fellow Americans -- including children in a daycare center (which McVeigh called "collateral damage") -- that is very disturbing to me. Al-Qaeda I understand, McVeigh I don't.

Was Timothy McVeigh bitter? Was he clinging to his guns? Was he anti-government? Does he sound like some of the Republican Tea Party protesters? From McVeigh's own words you can decide for yourself.

"The government is afraid of the guns people have because they have to have control of the people at all times. Once you take away the guns, you can do anything to the people. You give them an inch and they take a mile. I believe we are slowly turning into a socialist government. The government is continually growing bigger and more powerful and the people need to prepare to defend themselves against government control."

"Taxes are a joke. Regardless of what a political candidate "promises," they will increase. More taxes are always the answer to government mismanagement. They mess up. We suffer. Taxes are reaching cataclysmic levels, with no slowdown in sight... Is a Civil War Imminent? Do we have to shed blood to reform the current system? I hope it doesn't come to that. But it might."

I am hopeful that no one "celebrates" the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing with a violent act against our country. But, frankly, I'm not confident that there aren't some bitter people, clinging to their guns and religion, with the same hatred and anti-government mindset of Timothy McVeigh, ready to do something terrible against others that don't look like them or think like them.

It's been done before, so don't kid yourself, it can happen again. The "Guns and Bitter" crowd is something to fear.