Time to End the Gun Bazaar Fueling the Madness

Gun hobbyists, hunters and Second Amendment aficionados who demand unlimited access to the purchase and possession of weapons and then flood the airwaves with their propaganda about various threats to gun ownership do so at a cost: mass killings in our schools, our shopping malls, shootings in our homes, our groceries, and elsewhere in our communities.

Women think they're safer with a gun in the house, but more often than not they become victims. Like this recent madman's mother, who owned three guns and died at her son's hands before he killed so many others. It's simply wrong-headed to think having a gun in the house makes you safer. The statistics tell us otherwise. But the NRA and its associated groups won't tell you that.

Guns -- legal and illegal -- are everywhere these days. The US is an armed camp. And people who are depressed or sadistic or angry can get hold of a weapon and ammunition without much trouble.

The money from nearly unrestricted gun sales in some states feeds the gun lobby in Washington and brings terror to those who have strict gun controls.. States Rights means gun dealers can go to Virginia and purchase guns in bulk and sell illegally in the North. NRA lobbyists have the most money to hand out in Washington, and they pull our representatives' strings.

The Second Amendment wackos think the Blue Helmets are coming for their treasured guns. They have visions of hopping into their uncle's pickup truck to fight Soviet paratroopers in the Montana hills. They want you to know that you'll have to take their guns from them when they've died trying to protect their Second Amendment rights. They will tell you guns don't kill people, people kill people; so if you only would enforce the laws already on the books you wouldn't need to consider adding more intrusive and annoying gun control legislation. That's what they'll tell you. Maybe not today, when a man with a gun exercised his Second Amendment right to kill lots of children. But they'll start telling you this as soon as the coast is clear.

My personal gun rights muse emerged last week to tell me over the fence that the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty was a devious scheme to take away his Second Amendment rights. ATT would give his rights to a world power determined to harm America. He read it somewhere and wouldn't believe my evidence to the contrary. He told me we were wasting our money at the UN, that even though we helped the Dominican Republic after their hurricane, the Dominicans couldn't be bothered to help us after ours. He was glad that the Senate had voted down the international arms treaty last week because the Blue Helmets were surely out to get us all.When he came out today to spew his ill-informed nonsense over the fence, he was walking on eggshells. Even he knew that today's shootings were beyond the pale. But his hesitance wasn't a change of heart. No, he's still a true believer. It was a mere pause to avoid an uncomfortable situation.

So, what is to be done now?

• We need to make it clear to President Obama that he must challenge the NRA's stranglehold on our lives. We need immediate action.
• We need to remember 12/14 like 9/11. We mustn't forget. 
• We must nag all our Congressional leaders to do something substantial and do it right away. There have been countless such shootings and each time we say it must stop. Then more people die. Just think how far back this could have been fixed. There have been many perfect occasions to have drawn the line on gun violence.

The alternative to doing something about gun sales and violence is to start training our children at a painfully young age to defend themselves in armed combat. At school. At the movies. At the mall. You name it, guns are invading that space. Even the Hunger Games didn't involve elementary school age children going off to fight for their lives.It's wrong and we need to do something about this sad state of affairs as soon as possible.