With all the political turmoil these days, most of which is separating rather than uniting us, I have tried to listen and keep my mouth shut, but there are straws and there are last straws and my last straw is an opinion or two. In 2021 to date there have been 30 school shootings in the United States, 22 since August 1st, 88 since 2018. The recent case at Oxford, Michigan High School left four dead and seven hospitalized. Blame is being waved around like flags on the Fourth of July. There’s plenty to go around, but the real issue is how freely we permit gun ownership without much, if any indoctrination as to their handling and use; the United States is the number one gun manufacturer in the world. Not only do we export them and provide our own military, but we also sell them carelessly to the civilian population. The NRA goof balls continuously quote the second amendment, blah, blah, blah.
However, they only cite a part of the amendment. It says, “In order to have a well-maintained militia…” When that amendment was added to the constitution, we did not have a militia capable of destroying every living soul on the globe. Now we do. The two words “gun control” seem to scare the daylights out of the NRA and its cohorts. Guns kill. Cars can kill.
That’s why we are required to take written and road tests before we’re let loose on the streets and highways. A motor vehicle with an unstable person behind the wheel can kill. Same for a gun. It is so easy for an unstable teenager (or adult) to obtain an AK-47, Luger or Rossi 38 caliber handgun. I constantly hear, “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” Wrong – “Guns in the hands of people kill people.” As Paul Harvey used to say on the radio, “Now you know the rest of the story.
Now, part two. Roe vs. Wade settled the abortion matter in 1973, a Supreme Court ruling that has been reaffirmed several times since. So here we go. It is wrong for a woman to control her own body, but any kid, not old enough to obtain a driver’s license can obtain a gun and kill your kid. There used to be a common expression, “Mother knows best.” Women are better equipped to control their bodies than a bunch of old fogies.
Every day the country seems to become more divided. No two issues have caused the chasm to continue to separate us. I believe we should control gun distribution on the streets of America and let women control their bodies.
Raymond Strait | Hemet
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