If you are against toughening gun control laws — you’re wrong. And you’re part of the problem. And people are dying in part because of you. But I’ve come to realize, they are also dying in part because of me.
That’s the sad, unvarnished, undeniable truth. It is way past time those who have been arguing for tighter gun control laws stop beating around the bush on this explosive political subject. You are either for tougher gun control, or you are tacitly enabling mass murders to gun down innocent people. There is no in-between position.
I know, here it comes. Some deranged idiot in Las Vegas goes crazy with a bunch of guns, innocent people die, and “liberals” go nuts blaming the guns. Same stuff people like me spouted after Newtown, or after Orlando, or after (fill in the blank with one of so many shootings that might have been stopped with tougher gun laws). Blah, blah, blah – spouting left-wing rhetoric, trying to come after our guns and eliminate the Second Amendment.
But it’s not the Second Amendment that needs to be eliminated. It’s the incorrect, blind, narrow-minded thinking of those who believe any restrictions on any guns is the first step towards a total ban. How many more have to needlessly and senselessly die to support that misguided viewpoint?
The argument that guns and gun owners are under attack by the government or anyone else is a myth put forth by the powerful NRA and other gun lobbying groups to instill fear in good Americans. It’s not true, but it’s tremendously effective. It makes them appear to be defending the American people instead of putting the profits of gun-related businesses and industries ahead of the safety of those same Americans.
While leaving the Second Amendment intact, gun control advocates and other Americans should be joining forces to declare an all-out war in favor of common-sense gun control laws. Those who stand in the way of that should be ashamed, and their political opposition overrun.
Spare me the insane argument that more gun control is useless and ineffective. No one should have the right to own weapons that shoot incredible amounts of bullets in a short amount of time. Also spare me your definitions — automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons, assault weapons. You have hidden behind these rigged definitions for decades now, trying to complicate what is a relatively simple issue.
Keep your personal protection hand gun. Keep your hunting rifles. You have a perfect right to them. I don’t want them.
But it’s just too bad if you have to go through a tougher process to get guns licensed. If your inconvenience results in just one less funeral, one fewer family grieving due to gun violence, that’s a good thing.
Outside of the military and law enforcement, people in this country don’t need or have a right to own weapons that can kill hundreds in seconds. They should not be able to legally buy large ammo magazines. Your alleged right to do so does not trump (no pun intended) the right of all Americans to live safely.
Gun proponents have run a masterful political strategy over the years. They have successfully made a lot of people believe guns equal freedom. They don’t.
Guns are what we sometimes have to use to fight for our freedom. But weapons like those used in Las Vegas belong in the hands of our soldiers and police, not in our neighborhoods or homes.
However, I’m done blaming gun owners and the NRA for the lack of intelligent gun control laws. It’s not their fault. It’s our fault.
We, the people who say we want it, who give it lip service, but aren’t committed enough to make it happen.
Gun advocates have gotten the job done. They have successfully dominated the political landscape and influenced both the lawmakers and the laws. They have succeeded — and we have failed.
That has to change.
We who are so outraged have to become more effective.
We must not only speak the truth, but make it impossible to ignore.
No, I’m not exactly sure how we do that. But I’ll be damned if I wait for more dead bodies before trying.
Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be reached at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.