Gun Nuts Media

Because they’re so ignorant, but at least they’re really enthusiastic in their ignorance. Found a fun little op-ed in the Vanderbilt college paper that really stands as a shining example of how full of crap most college kids are. And I’m not excluding myself from that, I’m sure that when I was a sophomore in college, I was pretty much entirely full of crap.

In one way, it’s not really fair – I doubt that I receive any honest debate, because usually 19 year olds are such ardent believers that it is entirely inconceivable that their ideology could be wrong…of course, that doesn’t make the fisking any less fun for me.

Firearms remain a distinctly American obsession. Unsurprisingly, this feverishly religious fixation has ordained guns alongside the infallible icons of baseball, apple pie and NASCAR. While the rest of the civilized world has abandoned such instruments of technological feat and individual dignity, we have survived this strange, globally endemic wave of demasculinization by preserving our right — constitutional right, that is — to bear arms.

Ah, the redneck trifecta – NASCAR, gluttony, and firearms. Because anything that the masses like must be bad, right? I do really enjoy the subtle implication in there that because we still believe in our constitutional right to bear arms, we’re somehow uncivilized. I guess I should thank my lucky stars that I can manage to hunt and peck words out on this new fangled electronic typewriter thingy.

Things have changed since 1787. Guns still, in some sense, represent power, freedom and revolution, possibly in socially underdeveloped and politically unstable countries or in the National Rifle Association headquarters. However, other devices have replaced those antiques and proven to be our modern leverage against institutional authority. Personal computers, the Internet and even YouTube have created an inversed Orwellian state, where the people constantly monitor the regime for signs of deviation from the ideal.

You know, I actually believe that the pen is mightier than the sword…but the pen needs the sword as well. You see, there are people who don’t like the pen, and they have lots of swords, so when they come to silence the pen you’re going to need a sword of your own. Side note, this kid managed to get the required anti-NRA dig in in the second paragraph, so he’s right on the format. But he is right – things have changed since 1787, and we do have personal computers, the internet, etc. Since the First Amendment covers modern technological innovations, shouldn’t the 2nd Amendment cover…modern firearms?

In the light of new revelations of school shootings, one of which occurred and one of which was thwarted, we must ask why these terrifyingly similar incidents still happen even after Columbine, even after Virginia Tech, even after those painful, frustrating moments where we vowed to implement change, even after realizing guns are no longer weapons of self-preservation for ordinary citizens. Today, guns are necessary tools for the police, military and recreational hunters, not for a mentally instable 14-year-old.

So, who is supposed to protect ordinary citizens from the Very Bad Men that exist in this world? Can you guarantee that there will be a police officer at every corner, by every house just in case they’re needed? Of course you can’t, and to act on such a guarantee would place us square into a police state.

One thing for sure, the problem is not that guns are inherently evil. In the same spirit, the problem is not that our young boys are playing games with fake guns. The problem is that our young boys are playing with real guns. The problem is that those young boys are also bullied, mentally volatile, naive, vindictive and suicidal. The problem is that the parents and the schools leave them unattended, unmonitored and unknown.

Actually, this is the first smart thing that is written in this entire essay. Guns and video games aren’t the problem – there are serious social and economic issues at the root of most of the gun crime in America. It’s not coincidence that most of the nation’s violent crime occurs in economically depressed areas, but instead of actually addressing the issues that cause the depression, most people would rather focus on the device used to perpetrate the crime.

Resolution of this dilemma will most likely take decades, if not generations. It will involve the participation of you and me as socially responsible, genuinely concerned and proactively conscious citizens. We can learn from our European and Asian counterparts in a manner that does not interfere with our cultural identity but in a way that requires us to be open, sensible and reasonable. Even in rural America, where the gun speaks law and order, we must gradually evolve into a culture where law and order are fully sufficient for civil stability. In the meantime, we must stop exploiting the Second Amendment to justify our pathetic, quasi-patriotic, petty imitations of antediluvian, cowboy-esque individualism. Rather, the clause should be respected symbolically in the context of its historical reality, progressive activism and unconventional wisdom. In short, our society must be willing to gamble on mutual trust and mutual peace. The prospects are too tempting.

Aaaaaand…we’re right back to foolish idealism. The mindless glorification of non-American society, the stereotyping of gun owners as redneck cowboy-wannabes, belief that we can “all just get along”, and topped off with a delicious cherry of “let’s make the world a better place”. I’d laugh if it wasn’t so damn tragic.

I’m sure that one or two of you will think I’m being too harsh on this kid. You’ll say, “But Ahab, he’s just 19, he can’t know any better”; and I’ll say that he’s got to learn some time. The last paragraph of his essay is the part that really gets me, because it’s actually the most foolish and misguided of the whole thing. People do not just “get along”. Unfortunately, some people are violent, malevolent assholes who enjoy hurting their fellow man. I mean, look at this sentence:

we must gradually evolve into a culture where law and order are fully sufficient for civil stability

What the hell does that even mean? Law and order is civil stability; that sentence is just a pile of nonsense.

I’m sure that this kid has the best of intentions – but his ideals are just that, high minded ideals that have nothing to do with the real world where everyone else lives. I can only hope that the result of his publishing such a foolish missive will result in some sense being pounded into his skull.

Edit/Update: Uncle has his way with the piece.   I especially love this line: I, instead, don’t gamble and take steps to ensure my own safety. And all the hippie, tree-hugging mutual trust bologna in the world isn’t worth a hill of beans the very second someone breaks that mutual trust your gambling on.

Uncle’s way with words will never cease to amuse me.

The Governator signed the retarded microstamping bill, and in somewhat of a surprise move, signed the ban on lead ammo in the California Condor’s sprawling “habitat range”.  Sebastian has some pretty strong words for Ah-nuld, and I have to say that I agree.  What kills me about this bill is that the article in the San Diego paper promoting in even acknowledges that it’s full of holes.  Just to name a few, revolvers are not mentioned anywhere in the language of the bill, and any semi-auto manufactured before 2010 isn’t covered by the bill either.

The law doesn’t really go into effect until Jan. 1st, 2010 – that gives us a little more than 2 years to have this stupid law overturned.  Barring that, I hope that firearms manufacturers will follow the lead of Ronnie Barret, and refuse to service or do business with the State of California.

In other California news, I hear from the NRA-ILA that the City of Long Beach is designing an ordinance that amounts to an ammunition registration program.  I don’t have a copy of the language of the ordinance yet, but coming from California, and Orange County, I can rest assured that it will be three things: Onerous, unrealistic, and expensive.

The City of Long Beach is in the preliminary stages of crafting an ordinance requiring ammunition sales to be logged by all Federal Firearm Licensees (FFL’s) and electronically sent to law enforcement.  Under this possible ordinance, it is likely that purchasers will be forced to present identification and submit to fingerprinting simply to purchase a box of ammunition to hunt or go to the range.  It has been transferred to the Public Safety Advisory Committee and the Public Safety Committee.  Thus far the Public Safety Advisory Commission has withheld judgment on the issue at two consecutive meetings and the Public Safety Committee is waiting for input and recommendation from the Public Safety Advisory Committee.

Even if you don’t live in Long Beach, it’s worth contacting the people listed on the NRA-ILA alerts page – if you do, be courteous and well spoke, and don’t forget that the Firearms Owner’s Protection Act overturned a federal law that mandated ammo purchasers present an ID.  Why did it overturn that law?  Because the ID-for-ammo law was deemed ineffective at fighting crime.

Just from reading the NRA’s summary of the proposed Long Beach ordinance, it’s the kind of law that doesn’t take much tweaking to turn into de facto gun registration.  Think about it; you go buy a box of ammo, and your information is sent straight to Long Beach PD, or Orange County Sheriff’s Office for them to store in a database that you and I will probably never see.

Additionally, there are economic reasons behind this.  Most gun owners won’t want to submit to fingerprinting, etc just to buy a box of ammo, which means they’ll just take their business outside of Long Beach.  That’s bad for Long Beach gun and outdoor stores, because they’re going to lose business if this law passes.

California seems to be deeply committed to running itself into some kind of authoritarian socialist paradise, complete with crime and secret government databases.  Makes me glad I moved away all those years ago.

According to a Gallup poll, conducted October 4-7th, 51 percent of Americans favor “increased gun laws” as opposed to 47% who favor keeping the laws the same or making them less restrictive.

It’s very instructive to point out at this juncture that the margin for error on this poll is +/- 3%…which would put the “more control” and “less or the same control” groups at a statistical tie.

The other questions on the survey were even more indicative of the fact that gun control is a losing proposition these days.  To the question of whether or not there should be a general ban on the possession of handguns, 68% of respondents said that there should not be a ban on handguns, as opposed to only 30% who favor a handgun ban.

The final question was whether or not we should enforce our current laws, or pass more laws while enforcing our current laws: the answer was that 58% favor enforcing the current laws, and only 38% think that the current laws should be enforced and have new laws added to them.

To me, the last question is the most telling of them all – it indicates that the majority of Americans think that our current laws just need to be enforced correctly.  The fact that almost 60% of the country thinks that we already have quite enough gun control, thank you please, really does indicate that the anti-gun argument continues to lose credibility and effectiveness.