April 28, 2013

Left, Right False Equivalence: Newtown vs. Boston

A false equivalence narrative has crept into the conversation after the Boston Marathon bombing. It goes something like this: The Left reacted to the mass-shooting in Newtown, Connecticut by saying “we have to do something,” and the Right reacted to the bombing at the Boston Marathon by saying exactly the same thing. On Newtown, liberals want a ban on assault weapons and expanded background checks. On Boston, conservatives want the surviving suspect classified an enemy combatant, suspending his rights as an American citizen, among other similar police state responses.

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April 21, 2013

Has Society Moved Beyond The Second Amendment?

On Friday’s Real Time on HBO, Bill Maher quoted conservative columnist George Will from an article he wrote in 1991 titled, “How Embarrassing: The Constitution Protects the Guns that Kill.” Yes folks, this is actually a George Will article. “The Bill of Rights should be modified only with extreme reluctance, but America has an extreme crisis of gunfire,” wrote Will. “And impatience to deal with it can cause less than scrupulous readings of the Constitution.” Because anyone who thinks the language of the Second Amendment guarantees their right to own an assault weapon is hiding behind that Amendment, not comprehending it. “Whatever right the Second Amendment protects is not as important as it was 200 years ago, when the requirements of self-defense and food-gathering made gun ownership almost universal,” said Will.

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April 2, 2013

Gun Laws: Nelson, Georgia to Newtown, Connecticut

The small city of Nelson, GA, population 1300, has passed a new ordinance requiring all residents to own a gun. Yes, you read that correctly. I speculate that at least one of the people responsible for this new law opposed the Affordable Care Act’s “individual mandate,” on the grounds of freedom of choice and individual liberty. But when it comes to guns? You’ll buy one and you’ll like it, or else…

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February 28, 2013

Assault Weapons: No One Needs Those Guns

On Tuesday night, Rachel Maddow’s guests were the siblings of Newtown shooting victim Victoria Soto, who was a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Rachel asked Carlos Matthew Soto, brother of Victoria, what he would like to see congress change. “It would probably be the assault weapon ban. Just because, no one needs those guns,” said Soto. “There’s no reason to have them unless your military.”

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