How do we differentiate ourselves from backward countries
like Somalia, Afghanistan, and Syria where life is cheap? We assert that we are a nation of laws. We assert we govern ourselves with the
ballot. We have heard a continuous
message from the NRA of fear and encouraging escalating gun play in
public. Through ALEC (American Legislative
Exchange Council) the infamous “Stand Your Ground Laws” were enacted. Maurice Moorer is not the kind of person lawmakers
had in mind when they gave Florida the broadest self-defense law in the nation
in 2005. State legislators sold stand
your ground as a legal protection for law-abiding Floridians who were forced,
through no fault of their own, to defend their family and property. But the day Moorer killed his ex-wife's
boyfriend in 2008 capped two years of violent behavior that had landed Moorer
in jail multiple times and left his wife living in fear. Still, prosecutors set Moorer free, saying
Florida's stand your ground law prevented them from pursuing murder
charges. A Tampa Bay Times analysis of
stand your ground cases found that it has been people like Moorer — those with
records of crime and violence — who have benefited most from the controversial
legislation. A review of arrest records for those involved in more than 100
fatal stand your ground cases shows: Nearly 60 percent of those who claimed
self-defense had been arrested at least once before the day they killed
someone. More than 30 of those defendants, about one in three, had been accused
of violent crimes, including assault, battery or robbery. Dozens had drug
offenses on their records. Killers have invoked stand your ground even after
repeated run-ins with the law. Forty percent had three arrests or more. Dozens
had at least four arrests. More than a third of the defendants had previously
been in trouble for threatening someone with a gun or illegally carrying a
weapon. In dozens of cases, both the defendant and the victim had criminal
records, sometimes related to long-running feuds or criminal enterprises. Of
the victims that could be identified in state records, 64 percent had at least
one arrest. Several had 20 or more arrests.
Florida's stand your ground law has been under intense scrutiny since George
Zimmerman claimed self-defense after killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin at a
Sanford apartment complex Feb. 26. Police and prosecutors said they did not
immediately charge Zimmerman because they could not disprove his self-defense
claim. All told, 119 people are known to
have killed someone and invoked stand your ground. All of the perpetrators of
these homicides were inspired by these laws and sight them as their initial
defense. The laws had their intended effect.
They created fear. That fear caused
gun sales to sky rocket. With sky
rocketing sales comes inexperienced users, increased deaths due to accidents,
increased homicides, but most importantly, increased PROFITS. The NRA worked tirelessly on behalf of
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker who stripped collective bargaining rights from
teachers. Now the NRA is recommending
those same teachers should be carrying weapons to respond to gunmen in the
classroom. How long would it be before a
naughty fourth grader grabbed the teacher’s gun and accidently killed himself
or another student? Then what? Arm all the students? That would be a great economic boon for Smith
and Wesson but hardly the right direction for public schools. Look at the people that have gone on these
murderous rampages, they come prepared.
Handguns aren’t cheap. Who is
going to pay for a sidearm for every teacher? The GOP won’t even sign off on the debt
ceiling on money that’s already authorized by them to be spent. Our nation wants to have a dialogue about
reducing the capacity of suicidal madmen to inflict massive casualties on
civilian populations by limiting clip size, banning off the shelf assault
rifles, and tightening up sales at gun shows so the paper work is the same as
at a gun store. The longer a madman has
to struggle to acquire or modify an automatic weapon, the more likely they will
come in contact with the law before they can execute a fatal plan. While the NRA accuses those that plea for
public safety of being gun grabbers and that they will come for shot guns and
bolt actions next, take a rational look at who really keeps upping the ante. We recently found out that “main stream”
Republican Dick Armey had an armed assistant help him fire people at his Super
Pac then agreed to leave the organization himself with an 8 million dollar
golden parachute. FreedomWorks is still
filled with corruption contributing nothing to campaigns, only stealing from
contributors. Is this what we want for
our country? Is absolute corruption and
the worship of the almighty dollar regardless the cost in human life, bound to
replace the rule of law? Is promoting
fear, lies, and insecurity, important enough that we should live in a virtually
lawless nation, similar to Somalia or Syria all for the benefit of increased
gun sales? The NRA does virtually
nothing for habitat or game preservation.
Their entire focus is gun sales and politics. Whenever the response of uniform gun laws
(gun shops-gun shows) comes up after a public slaughter the NRA sends out a
message of fear that people are out to get your Grandpa’s shotgun and your
Dad’s deer rifle from you. P.S. You had better buy an AR15 while they’re
still legal (to protect yourself). And
don’t forget about those times you can’t have your AR15 with you. You’ll need a good conceal and carry weapon
with knock down power as well as a boot pistol.
And don’t forget the little lady!
No circumstance is too grim or sad to refrain from making their fear
filled sales pitch. Ignore the NRA. They have already had their say in these
sorry circumstances. If being well armed
protected one from madmen, the Newtown killer would be dead on the kitchen
floor at his Mother’s hand instead of being his first victim. Learn about the limited gun controls that are
being proposed from a neutral news source.
Don’t trust an organization that pushes a law that ends up helping
criminals.