The recent incident in Florida in which an innocent teenager was gunned down by a man with a Neanderthal mentality is terribly tragic, but not unique. The fact that it is not unique constitutes another terrible tragedy.
Florida has a law known as "stand your ground" which means a private citizen may use firearms against any person they deem is an immanent danger. They are allowed to do this at home, on the street, in a restaurant, in a park, and anywhere else. It seems, by the lack of an arrest of the Florida shooter, that this laws protect those who actually were in immanent danger, as well as those who were not. All they must do to comply with the law is to state, after the fact, they thought they were in danger.
The "stand your ground" law is a dangerous law, as the Florida killing illustrates. What makes it even more dangerous than one might suppose is that it is not just a Florida law, but laws like it have been passed in twenty one states in our nation.
What would possess state governments to pass such off the wall legislation? As Mr. Rogers might ask, "Can you say NRA?" The NRA is driven by some $200 million dollars a year, mostly from gun manufacturers and gun sellers to use their influence to see that America becomes an armed camp.
They are now urging bills that would allow concealed weapons in day-care centers and school buses. The more places that allow gun (concealed guns in most cases), the more guns that can be sold and the more profit the gun sellers and manufacturers will make.
Getting back to Florida, Brian Malte, of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said, "Florida is the NRA Utopia. They make it as easy as possible to carry a loaded gun in public, virtually anywhere. And then instill the mentality that you can shoot first, ask questions later."
In Arizona they recently considered a law that would make it legal for anyone on the campus of public colleges and universities to carry a gun. I am not a big fan of the Arizona governor, but to her credit, when this law was actually passed in her state, she vetoed it. The NRA, no doubt, will surely try there, again.
The NRA and other pro gun organizations and individuals will tell you that armed citizens will counteract the guns in the hands of felons and other criminals. Well, that sounds pretty good until you are faced with one startling fact. Two thirds of the gun violence in this country is committed by these same citizens, who prior to their act of violence, had no criminal record. To use that old phrase, "We have met the enemy, and it is us," seems quite appropriate here.
In a recent op-ed piece, Gail Collins of the New York Times said," I am thinking that the best solution for all concerned would be a strict national gun-control law that makes it very difficult to get a concealed weapons permit, permits gun dealers to sell only one handgun per individual per year, and makes it illegal for even permit holders to keep handguns anywhere but their home, store or car glove compartment unless they are employed in the security business."
Of course what Collins is advocating in her op-ed piece is no more than common sense, and while the NRA may be flush with cash, they are significantly over-drawn on their common sense account.
So the gun carnage in our country continues, while the NRA is screaming, "MORE, MORE, MORE." They love to say that guns do not kill people, people kill people. That is both true and incomplete, as in fact, people with guns kill people, as the NRA makes doing so easier and easier.
I do think the NRA has missed one important area where guns should be legal, if not mandatory. That would be in the shower. Picture, if you will that while taking a shower you hear what you believe to be an intruder in your house, or worse yet in your bathroom. You grab your gun (a water proof one, of course), leap naked from the shower, assume a slight crouch, and while holding your gun with both hands, holler (in your best Clint Eastwood impersonation) "Freeze, punk." Then all you have to do is to wait until the intruder keels over, either from fear or laughter.
Hey, the NRA being what it is...it could happen!
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