In the aftermath of the horrendous theater shooting rampage in Aurora, Colorado, many conservative politicians and pundits were quick to urge us all "not to politicize this tragedy." That's just right-tard code for "don't you dare pass any restrictive gun laws." Their common theme was that, essentially, it's too late, that more legislation won't do any good, because there are already so many guns out there. So there's nothing we can do -- just get used to it, America. Good luck! And keep your head down.
Two Republican pols took it up a notch, blaming the victims for their own massacre. Both Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert and Arizona Senate candidate Russell Pearce wondered why nobody else in the theater had a gun and said that an armed citizen in the audience could have stopped it. Gohmert said the murders were the result of an "attack on our Judeo-Christian values." Sure, Louie, sure.
The shooter was crazy, but these attitudes are just as crazy. The killer had automatic weapons, shitloads of ammo, and body armor head to toe. Ol' Ma Kettle with a pistol in her purse would not have helped. And what we certainly don't need is a theater full of armed movie-goers. We need less people like the shooter, not more.
And we can do something. We can ask ourselves why total wackos find it so easy to buy lethal weapons, and take preventative steps. We can reinstate the Clinton-era ban on assault weapons. We can stop selling military and law enforcement equipment -- large capacity magazines, smoke and tear gas grenades, flak jackets and helmets -- to those not actually in the military or law enforcement. We can make real efforts to reduce the number of guns in circulation. Our political parties can grow backbones and tell the NRA to fuck off.
We can end the insanity . . . if we want to, if we have the nerve.
[For more in this vein, see Buster's archives, 1/18/11, "A Sensible Gun Policy"]
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