More on "The Gun Issue"

As some of you may know, I'm a "lefty" who tends to be more like a 1960's - 70's left wing Democrat than one of today's "liberals".  I am an environmentalist, a freethinker, a life long fisher woman, a shooter, a believer in greater freedom, while at the same time supporting anti-discrimination laws, equal employment laws.  I support abortion rights (if you don't like abortion  --  don't have one), freedom of and from religion, and equality before the law.  I see The U.S.A. as a secular country that welcomes all.  I oppose "special rights" for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc., etc.  I think ALL churches must pay tax, and ALL Priests, Ministers, Pastors, Imans, etc. must be subject to the same laws all the rest of us follow.

I do not think ANY group has the right to avoid laws that govern the rest of us because their religion, or custom is a thousand years behind the times.

Right now, we should have single payer health insurance, Social Security should be increased by 70%, unemployment insurance extended  --  until........... .  Basically corporations are NOT people, banks MUST be broken up, and the federal reserve should void all mortgages  --  clean the slate and start over. 

Now, I've been reading stuff from both/all sides of the "gun controversy".  In my opinion both sides are often full of shit.  The anti-gun folks often show how little they know about guns, how irrational their fears are, and how unrealistic they are.

As Jefferson said, “Those who hammer their guns into plows, will plow for those who do not.”

There are a lot of famous statements about "pacifism"  --  usually the anti-gun, anti-war, anti-whatever folks repeat, "Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dali Lama" over and over.

They neglect to mention that Gandhi supported Hitler during WWII, succeeded largely because the British Empire was exhausted and broke, and found him easier to deal with than other folks who supported violence.

MLK was an alternative to groups supporting violence, and between 1964 and 1967 lots and lots of cities in the USA burned.  We were also fighting a war in Asia that was becoming VERY unpopular.  Something had to be done  --  King was the best alternative our government had  --  even though our wonderful FBI did everything possible to connect him to "Communism", and had all sorts of spies in all Civil Rights organizations.

Lately I've seen some insane anti-gun rhetoric  --  folks saying that ALL gun owners are "inbred, mouth-breathing, insecure morons", or saying stuff that has no relationship to the reality of any particular weapon.  Most of the "assault weapons" are .223 caliber  --  that is they are high velocity .22's.  Others (like AK's) are usually 7.62x39  --  or 30 caliber "shorts".  The .308 NATO cartridge is a 7.62x51 (the "39" or "51" refers to the length of the cartridge  --  longer, more powder, more power possible).  For years many have argued the  5.56x45 (223) is underpowered for combat  --  at the same time, both the press and anti-gun
 folks want to describe it as some infernal killing machine.  As a sporting rifle it's used for "varmint" shooting.  Even the AK's 7.62x39 is seen by many as underpowered for deer.

The action is quite efficient IF the rifle is kept clean.  It has spawned many different "wildcat" cartridges that are useful for game like deer.  Not that common  --  but out there.  The .223 is owned by many as a self defense weapon, a home defense weapon.  In many cities, towns, and villages where the budget has been cut to nothing there aren't enough police to cover the area.  If you have a problem  --  you are on your own.  The AR15 is an easily handled, low recoil, effective, home defense weapon.  There's no strange "magic" there.

As far as GLOCKS go  ---  they are pistols, available in 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP (45 Automatic Colt Pistol), and .357Sig.  Pistols from Beretta, Sig Sauer, Ruger, HK, Taurus, Springfield, and others are also available - often very similar.  Shooting a pistol or revolver takes some skill.  They are semi-automatic (one trigger pull, one shot) and require you to practice to be a passable marksman.  Again, an awful lot of folks attach some sort of "magical" properties to the name Glock  --  because it has a polymer frame, but the rest is steel.

You cannot just buy the pistol and become a "killing machine"  --  in fact, until you are willing to learn how to shoot it  --  it can be rather difficult, with lot's of failures to load or eject.

An awful lot of anti-gun "lefties" complain about police brutality, police homophobia, failure to respond, and the general right-wing attitude of many police officers  --  at the same time, they REFUSE to even learn how to defend themselves.  They complain about every aspect of the government, yet still trust it to defend them from the GOVERNMENT.  How's that work?

An entire population willing to defend their rights might not be able to win a battle against a modern army  --  but, as we have seen, they can win the war.

Now, the rabid-right-wing folks seem to think you cannot be a"liberal" and support either gun rights or The Constitution.  They will even say that "the only good liberal is a dead liberal".  Pastors sometimes even preach death to LGBT folks from their pulpits.  Many are not willing to even TALK to folks they THINK are "libtards".  Some even talk about an "uprising".  They fetishize guns and everything to do with them.

Almost all are NOT "dangerous"  --  a few are.  They are as extreme as the anti-gun folks are.  Many seem to want "open carry" everywhere, at all times, etc., etc., etc.

Between these two extremes there is no compromise.

Please remember The Second Amendment of The Constitution says the right to bear arms SHALL not be infringed.  Simple, straightforward.

I happen to think a lot of the current violence has to do with our nasty society.  Good jobs are gone.  People work more and harder than they did 30-40 years ago.  Vacations are a thing of the past for many folks.  A lot are hanging on by their fingernails.  A bad job review, a layoff can mean homelessness, hungry children, domestic stress and violence.  We ignore that.  We ignore inhumane conditions, growing inequality, loss of mobility, loss of freedom.  Then, when violence erupts, we blame it on the gun, knife, hammer, etc.

The gun issue is a "weapon of mass distraction".