Welcome to Buster's Blog

Irregular commentary on whatever's on my mind -- politics, sports, current events, and life in general. After twenty years of writing business and community newsletters, fifteen years of fantasy baseball newsletters, and two years of email "columns", this is, I suppose, the inevitable result: the awful conceit that someone might actually care to read what I have to say. Posts may be added often, rarely, or never again. As always, my mood and motivation are unpredictable.

Buster Gammons















Friday, December 14, 2012

Tweaked, But Still Crazy In Ohio (And Elsewhere, Too)




This morning, two gunmen started shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

A few days ago, a gunman shot and killed some people in a Portland, Oregon shopping mall.

A couple weeks ago, a football player in Kansas City, Missouri used a handgun to murder his wife at home in front of his mother and his daughter, then used it again at a stadium to kill himself in front of his coach and his general manager.

Here in Columbus, Ohio, what did our disconnected State Senate do yesterday?  They passed an NRA-crafted bill to further relax the state's gun laws, then headed home for Christmas recess.  It was their last official legislative act of the year.  Several senators who voted for it are lame-ducks who won't be back next year.  Thanks a lot.
 
The tweak was removing the automatic reciprocal heat-packing agreements with other states, but the bill still grants Ohioans even broader rights to go damn near anywhere while carrying bunches of lethal weapons and ammo.  Just fucking brilliant!
 
As most Republican Senators were scurrying for the doors, minority leader Sen. Eric Kearney had the temerity to ask why it was necessary to let guns into the statehouse garage.  The majority's answer came from Sen. Larry Obhof, who said it was because other states allow guns in and around their capitols.  Oh, I see -- it's the old "everybody else is doing it" ploy.  Your mother never let you get away with that weak shit when you were a kid, but now it's your party's official position?  Double brilliant!!
 
Disconnected, hell!  They're nuts!  Preserve us from this madness!
 

If you'd like a sane point of view, Buster suggests:
 
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence


 
Mayors Against Illegal Guns
 
 
 
 
 The Brady Center is named for James Brady, Reagan's press secretary who was disabled for life in the 1981 assassination attempt.  The Mayors group is headed by NYC's Michael Bloomberg.  Its roster includes hundreds of mayors across the country, including the mayors of Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati.
 
Visit the sites, sign a petition, make a donation, write a letter.  Do something to combat the craziness.

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