"It's His Right"

"It's His Right"

Would you take in a troubled male teenager? Would you allow him to bring in an unknown number of firearms, and trust him to secure them properly?

This is the kind of bad judgement we're talking about. Treating lethal weapons as banal objects of unconcern, with an absurd level of protection, verging on fetishism.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/18/us/snead-cruz-florida-suspect.html

Mr. Snead said his wife turned angrily to Mr. Cruz, still wearing a hospital gown.

“Really, Nik?” she asked. “Really?”

He said Mr. Cruz replied that he was sorry.

The Sneads, apparently, are not.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-shooting-suspect-nikolas-cruz-snead-host-family-speaks/

Comments

  1. Sushama KarnikFebruary 21, 2018 at 8:42 AM

    Gun control, or a ban on guns? What is needed? Has ownership of a gun become a totem worship, or is it a dire necessity? For those living outside of the United States it's hard to understand why these issues have become so complicated as to defy a straightforward answer.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Drew McCarthyFebruary 21, 2018 at 8:56 AM

    Sushama Karnik Banning "assault" weapons can be difficult, because it's hard to pin down a definition based on design purpose, rather than mechanical attributes. The US also has strong economic interests in the manufacture of small arms, as well as a cultural attachment to a "cowboy" mythos that sees guns as iconic and necessary.
    And when you look at the "Cowboys vs Indians" part of that, you start to see how weapon ownership is often a mark of white supremacy, too.
    Folks with power (of any kind) are loath to relinquish it.
    Nevertheless, the current situation is ridiculous to an extreme, and almost ANY effort to curtail it would be beneficial and welcome, with no downside except the discomfort of those who fetishize weapons.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sushama KarnikFebruary 21, 2018 at 9:17 AM

    Drew McCarthy I am aware of all these implications which you have listed here. In the present context, more than the "Cowboys vs Indians " part, the issue has taken on the color of " "a gun in the hands of a good guy vs the gun in the hands of a bad guy", and that if a good guy is armed with a gun he can prevent the bad guy from harming society. But is that not the lawful responsibility of the police, and in the worst scenario, that of the army?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Drew McCarthyFebruary 21, 2018 at 9:54 AM

    Sushama Karnik Yes, you are correct. The Second Amendment was adopted in a time in this country's youth, when there were fewer and much less organized police and military forces. It has yet to be re-examined and modified in the light of current times.
    There are many logical fallacies in the arguments of those who are the strongest supporters of Second Amendment rights. I am old enough to remember when Black Panther activists only threatened to arm themselves, and were quickly and thoroughly quashed. The majority in power felt that the Second Amendment did not apply to them or their struggle.
    We are awash in fear and weapons in this country, with predictable results.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sushama KarnikFebruary 21, 2018 at 10:02 AM

    Drew McCarthy I think the children of America have matured fast in the last two years. Maybe, they will show the way out of this crisis.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lia SchollFebruary 21, 2018 at 11:21 AM

    Nothing different they would have done? Are you kidding me?

    ReplyDelete

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