We Will Talk About Gun Control

I’m talking to you card-carrying NRA member or anyone who says “now is not the time to talk about gun control.” This is the standard refrain after each violent high-profile event involving guns. Quite honestly, I’m tired of hearing it.

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Jay Carney: President Obama supports assault weapons ban

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Monday that President Obama supports renewing the assault weapons ban but “there has been reluctance by Congress to pass that renewal.” I’d say it’s a bit more severe than “reluctance.” I would characterize it more along the lines of: congress has sold out to the gun lobby. Or maybe: The NRA is holding congress and the country hostage. But I guess those two characterizations might be a bit too extreme for the White House, even if I think some in the White House might agree.

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Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting: America is NOT shocked

Every time one of these mass-shooting, mass-murder events happens in the United States we see headlines like “Americans in shock,” and descriptive words like horror and terror, but do you see a problem here? Did you notice that I started this article by saying “every time,” which indicates this is not a rare event. The fact is, while overall crime statistics are at 20 (even 30) year lows in many categories (including murder) we still have mass-shooting events occurring with regular frequency. Each one of us has essentially come to expect that these mass-shooting events are going to happen regularly. So is there anything shocking about it?

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There Is No Equivalence, Republican Rhetoric Is In A Class Of Its Own

Republicans will likely roll their eyes when you point out that there is no equivalence when it comes to left/right rhetoric. Both sides engage in hyperbole and insults but Republicans get away with a special kind of rhetoric that is in a class of its own. Eugene Robinson writes about this false equivalence in his latest Washington Post column: Republican rhetoric over the top.

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Spitzer Sums Up Romney Campaign Strategy: Lie About Obama

Mitt Romney was speaking at the NRA today and said, “This administration’s attack on freedom extends even to rights explicitly guaranteed by the constitution: the right to bear arms is so plainly stated, so unambiguous, that liberals have a hard time challenging it directly. Instead they have been employing every imaginable rouse and ploy to restrict it, and to defeat it.” Funny, last time I checked the Obama administration has done nothing when it comes to stricter gun laws. Nothing.

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The One-Way Street Of Gun Laws In America

Have you ever noticed how gun laws are increasingly going in one direction? Whether its “stand your ground” laws or a proposed “open carry” law in Oklahoma, it seems the only gun laws proposed are ones that make it easier to buy and use a firearm. When will humans evolve beyond the need for such primitive and violent symbols of strength? Republicans, conservatives and gun owners are becoming increasingly paranoid about a world that they feel is more dangerous than ever. Nevermind crime statistics that say otherwise. They want guns and they want them now. But that’s not enough, now they want to openly display how much heat they are packing. A proposed law in Oklahoma would allow residents of that state to flaunt their weaponry when out in public. Police are opposed to this measure because they believe it will make their job more difficult.

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