It is not my intention, however...to "report the news" of these evil events...or to write about "what happened"...but instead...to express my thoughts...with one point...and one point only - WE HAVE GOT TO GET THE GUNS.
I would be remiss, though, if I did not convey my thoughts and prayers to the families and loved ones...of those American patriots...whose lives were struck down...when a mentally ill, deranged gunman...shot them to death...at the Washington Navy Yard on September 16th, 2013...and to those who were hurt by that same vicious villain...plus to those Chicago citizens...who on September 19th...during an evening of pleasurable leisure... while rooting for their team at a friendly neighborhood "pick-up" basketball game...at a park on the south side of "The Windy City"...were harmed - some critically - when up to 3 male gang members...opened fire...with a high caliber, semi-automatic rifle. The suspects in the Chicago shooting are still at large, but Aaron Alexis - who authorities believe was the lone shooter at the Washington Navy Yard - was killed during a gun battle with police. Fortunately...and miraculously... none of the victims - including basketball players and spectators - at the Chicago park suffered any life-threatening injuries.
My sentiments towards those who were wounded...and to those who lost relatives and friends...are sincere and genuine. But it upsets me...and frustrates me...that I must again write about the senseless massacres...of human life.
How many times...must we as a nation...have to witness the slaughter of innocent people? The carnage must stop. WE HAVE GOT TO GET THE GUNS.
On December 14th, 2012...I'm sure all of you will recall that 20-year old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and 6 adult educators in a mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Lanza later committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
President Obama proposed tighter federal gun laws after Sandy Hook, but Congress refuses to pass any gun control bill. What is it going to take...if the heartbreaking murders of 20 little first-grade kids didn't do it...in order for our country to establish a law to get rid of the guns? Is it all about money? The fact of the matter is that selling, buying and owning guns are not just a Constitutional right, but millions...if not billions of dollars are at stake...if a gun control law is passed. But so what? It's disgraceful to think that Congress is protecting an industry - not to mention the National Rifle Association - because of the big bucks - the financial profits - that would be lost if a stringent gun control bill became law. What about the lives that are lost...and will continue to be lost until the American public stands up and shouts that we are not going to put up with the demands of the NRA...and the killings by sociopathic psychotics? How can our elected officials - and any decent human beings - care more about making money...than losing lives?This can no longer be a liberal versus conservative issue. It can no more be a matter where Democrats think one way...and Republicans think another. This should...and must be...a concern by everyone...as this is a problem that affects ALL AMERICANS...ALL HUMAN BEINGS. We must make our communities safe. WE HAVE GOT TO GET THE GUNS.
This country must join forces - Democrats, Republicans and Independents...liberals and conservatives...Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and all who believe in God or don't believe in God...all who have faith in a supreme being or who are agnostic or atheist...people whose skin color is white, black, brown, yellow or red...heterosexuals, homosexuals and bi-sexuals...men, women and children...everyone who proudly calls America their home - we must ALL...FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY...put a STOP...to the sick individuals...who are able to walk on to a school playground...into a restaurant...a park...a movie theater...a Navy Yard...or anywhere else...and commit mass murder.
The President of the United States...Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives...state and local politicians, law enforcement officers and everyone from school teachers to sanitation workers...from doctors to lawyers...from supermarket clerks and gas station attendants to corporate executives and religious leaders...no matter what your belief is or what your economic status is...WE HAVE GOT TO GET THE GUNS.
I noted at the outset that I would not use today's commentary to discuss the specifics of the two shootings this past week. But my views would not be complete...if I did not briefly question some important elements regarding the violent invasion of the Washington Navy Yard by a man who sought out help... and who knew - at least part of him knew - that he needed assistance...with his mental health.
Who dropped the ball? Who - or more importantly - how many people are responsible...for giving Aaron Alexis - a former sailor with behavioral problems - a secret level security clearance...to enter a United States military installation? Red flags should have been raised over and over and over again...and yet - for some strange reason - they were not.
Pentagon and law enforcement records reportedly reflect a pattern of misconduct by Alexis - in and out of the U.S. Navy - yet after leaving the service...he was provided access to military bases as a Defense Department contractor who handled information technology jobs. He had been arrested twice for shooting incidents - in 2004 and 2010 - but was never prosecuted or convicted. As a result...he was not prevented from purchasing the shotgun that he used to kill or wound a total of 20 people at the Washington Navy Yard.
I'm puzzled as to why the owner of the Virginia gun shop - who sold Alexis the shotgun on the Saturday before his rampage - didn't contact police...when Alexis inquired about buying an assault rifle. After all...the store refused to sell Alexis the weapon. Therefore...if a man purchases a shotgun...but also wants to spend money on an assault rifle...wouldn't that raise some eyebrows? I certainly would want to know the reason why an individual would want to make such a purchase.
In August 2013 - just a month ago - Alexis reportedly contacted police in Newport, Rhode Island and told the cops that people were following him and that he was "hearing voices." He also accused his "stalkers" of using a "microwave machine" to "send vibrations in to (his) body." The Newport Police reportedly advised local Navy authorities, but apparently the information was never sent up the chain of command...and police in Newport stated that they could not arrest Alexis... just because he was "hearing voices." Alexis then went to a Veterans Affairs hospital, but according to officials there, he only complained of not being able to sleep...but failed to mention "hearing voices." Doctors at the V.A. gave Alexis a prescription medicine...and sent him on his way.
How was this 34-year old man...with a history of angry outbursts...who struggled with mental health issues for nearly 10 years...able to retain a valid I.D...which permitted him to drive right through the main gate of the Washington Navy Yard...with a sawed-off shotgun hidden in his car? How did a background check not reveal Alexis' troublesome past...before granting him a security clearance? We must expand background checks for anyone and everyone who buys a gun. Universal background checks will help to close some of the gaps in our system - including on-line sales and gun show loopholes. We, as Americans, need to tell Congress - and force Congress - by our letters, telephone calls, e-mails, tweets - and, if necessary, our votes in the mid-term election - that every single person who wants to buy a gun must thoroughly be investigated. President Obama has appealed to the good senses of Senators and House Representatives, but they have not listened to him. We must get them to listen to us.
With Aaron Alexis...there were so many signs...so many red flags that could have prevented devastation at the Washington Navy Yard. If someone had just paid attention to one of them...12 people - no, 13 including Aaron Alexis himself - would more than likely be alive today. My goodness...a mentally ill person with military security clearance and an access to guns...a 5-year old child could figure out...that's a lethal combination.
To those of you who do not support a gun control law in this country... what is it about death...at the hands of a savagely disturbed and demented demon...do you not understand? I am not going to attack the National Rifle Association...or any American...who has the right under the United States Constitution...to own a gun. However...if our Founding Fathers had a crystal ball...and could have seen in to the future...back in the late 1700s...would we have a 2nd Amendment?
Would the likes of Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison...have allowed
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U.S. citizens...to own, or - worse than that - carry a gun...if they knew then...what we know today? When are those of you... who recognizably are law abiding citizens...who legally own guns - some of you who holster a sidearm when you merely take out the garbage or go grocery shopping - and most of which support the NRA - going to realize...that each and every American MUST support a gun control law that will rid the streets of illegal guns and stop the horrific acts of depraved homicidal degenerates? From pistols to shotguns...from revolvers to rifles...from military-style weapons that belong on a battlefield to guns of any kind that are obtained by twisted, warped and manical monsters...who brutally blast their way through the north, south, east and west of our civilized nation...we must totally terminate shooting sprees...by gang mobsters...by homegrown terrorists...and by barbaric beasts. We must put an end...to the executions of a multitude of people...or even a single man, woman or child...in the backyards of America's heartland...or on the concourse of cosmopolitan centers. I just hope that those of you...who do legally own a gun...and those of us who would never put our finger on a trigger...can all get together...to find a way...to end the tragedies...and bloody massacres of death...by bullets. WE HAVE GOT TO GET THE GUNS.And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.
The Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday. Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as well.
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The problem is not the NRA or gun shows, the problem is people that shouldn’t get guns being able to “legally” get guns. None of the President’s or the anti-gun group’s proposals will stop that. One of the biggest problems is with people with mental illness getting guns. Aaron Alexis (Navy Yard shooting), Adam Lanza (Newtown), and James Holmes (Colorado) all had mental issues and should have been on a list, a data base or something that would flag them on the insta-check system. It seems that none of our elected officials want to take on the mental health issue with guns! One of the only groups that is willing to try and stop these people from getting access to guns is the NRA : The NRA wants an ‘active’ mental illness database http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/21/the-nra-wants-an-active-mental-illness-database-thirty-eight-states-have-that-now/ .
ReplyDeleteAs for statement on the founding Fathers of our nation, Jefferson felt everyone should be armed:
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government" Thomas Jefferson 1803
"The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." --Thomas Jefferson 1824
And the Father of our country George Washington said:
“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence. The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference.” -- George Washington
As for your question why didn’t the gun shop owner report this to the police is because your information is wrong, the shop owner did not refuse to sell him an AR15 he told him the law required him to be a Virginia resident to buy one or if not a resident the store needed to ship it to a licensed gun shop in his home state and pick it up there. Instead Alexis chose a shot gun which under Virginia law does not have that restriction; the store ran his name through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System database and was approved. The gun shop did nothing wrong!
You make the statement:” every American MUST support a gun control law that will rid the streets of illegal guns and stop the horrific acts of depraved homicidal degenerates?” Nobody has propose a law that would do what you ask, all that they have proposed is taking guns away from healthy law abiding Americans.
You state a few times in your commentary “WE HAVE GOT TO GET THE GUNS” , whose guns do you want to GET? Everybody’s? That will never happen!
Regarding my comment about Washington, Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers, I ask you to re-read my column - because with all due respect, you obviously didn't read or understand what I wrote. What I stated was..."If our Founding Fathers had a crystal ball...and could have seen in to the future...back in the late 1700s...would we have a 2nd Amendment? Would the likes of Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison...have allowed U.S. citizens...to own, or - worse than that - carry a gun...if they knew then...what we know today?" The operative words in my comment is - "If they knew then...what we know today."
DeleteRegarding the gun shop owner, my information is not wrong. Again, you obviously didn't read my words carefully. My point was that if I owned a gun shop and ANYONE ever inquired about an assault rifle, I'd want to know why that person wanted to make a purchase for such a weapon. There's no reason for it. And I, therefore, would immediately advise law enforcement in my city or state...or I would possiby notify the F.B.I. NOBODY should own an assault rifle.
And yes...regarding my comment that "WE HAVE GOT TO GET THE GUNS." If it was up to me...NOBODY - that's right...NOBODY...would own guns. But I respect the United States Constitution and understand that law abiding citizens do have the right to own guns. It's those "ILLEGAL GUNS" - that need to be "GOT." And we must also make sure that universal background checks are implemented so that the wrong people, the dangerous people, the mentally ill people - who are out to buy guns only to harm others - are not able to get them. So yes...WE HAVE GOT TO GET THE GUNS. GBD
I did read your column and I believe that if the Founding Fathers had a crystal ball we would still have a 2nd Amendment. They believed very strongly that the people had a right to protect themselves their families and their property. You talk about people carrying guns: Jefferson said everyone should always be carrying a gun:
ReplyDelete"The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." --Thomas Jefferson 1824
As to your comments on the gun shop owner you were wrong, you stated “ when Alexis inquired about buying an assault rifle. After all...the store refused to sell Alexis the weapon” the store owner never refused to sell it to him, if fact he tried to get him to buy it and have it sent to his home state as the law requires. Why would you think it’s odd or strange for someone to come in and ask to buy that type weapon? I spoke to a local gun shop (small mom and pop type store) they sell 40-50 a year and get asked about them daily. Walmart sells them; Sports Authority sells them; Dicks Sporting goods sells them, why would you call the police because someone came in to buy something you sell? Isn’t that what you have them for, to sell them?
As for your final comment about background check, Alexis went through and passed the background check, so did James Holmes and Adam Lanza killed his mother and stole her guns. Tell how universal background checks at a gun show would have stopped these tragedies ? We need reforms of our system yes and we should close the loop holes at gun shows but they are the minor problem. The big problem is keeping guns away from the people with mental problems and prosecuting gun crimes. We don’t need more laws on honest law abiding Americans.
My point is that if our nation's Founding Fathers had a crystal ball and knew then what we know now...that deranged madmen would be shooting up children in schools and other manical monsters would be murdering innocent people in movie theatres, restaurants, Navy yards or God knows where else...or a self-proclaimed vigilante neighborhood watch commander would be shooting an unarmed teenager walking through a Florida neighborhood - not to mention many other scenarios of single shootings or mass murders - I cannot believe that Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison or any of our other forefathers would have wanted anyone - that's right...ANYONE - to own a gun of any kind. You can quote Thomas Jefferson all day long, but if our 3rd President had even an inkling that guns would be used in such heinous crimes, he would never have made any of the statements you noted. As for the assault rifles...ANY PERSON who wants to buy an assault rifle MUST - that's right...MUST...be suspected of wrongdoing. There is NO NEED for anyone to purchase an assault rifle. There is NO REASON WHATSOEVER for ANYONE to own such a weapon...unless they are in the military and off to war on a battlefield...or they are part of a SWAT team...and in those cases...the United States Armed Forces or a federal, state or local law enforcement department would be purchasing those guns not a single individual. We need gun laws to protect everyone and, therefore, EVERY SINGLE PERSON who wants to purchase a gun of ANY KIND needs to be investigated from top to bottom...from tip to tail...to MAKE SURE there are no suspicions at all that the person buying the gun is going to use the weapon for bad purposes. If a law abiding citizen feels the need to own a gun - based on the United States Constitution - I will support the 2nd Amendment right. However...that law abiding citizen shouldn't object to a thorough background check. What would he or she be afraid of if they have no intention of using the gun for an illegal reason? As I said...WE HAVE GOT TO GET THE GUNS...and someday...we will. GBD
Deleteits clear this guy doesnt even know what an assault rifle is. can you explain to me what makes an assault rifle so much more worse than a regular rifle or handgun? ignorance is bliss.
DeleteWhen you say "this guy"...are you referring to the "guy" who responded to The Controversy or to the writer of The Controversy? If you are referring to the writer of the column - that would be me - and I certainly do "know" what an "assault rifle" is...but as far as it being "worse" than a "regular rifle or handgun"...well, if it was up to me...NOBODY would own ANY guns because they are ALL BAD. If it was up to me...there would be no 2nd Amendment right to own a gun...even for lawful citizens. But since I respect the United States Constitution, I respect the fact that law abiding Americans should be able to purchase CERTAIN types of guns...BUT...and yes, there is a BUT...ONLY AFTER a complete and thorough background investigation...thus my reason for supporting a more intense universal background check for ANYONE who wants to buy ANY gun. As I noted in my commentary...there is NO REASON for ANYBODY to own an assault rifle. The very basic difference between an assault rifle and a regular rifle is that an assault rifle is capable of both semi-automatic and full automatic fire with one pull of the trigger. A "regular" rifle only fires once each time the trigger is pulled. Firearms that have been used in certain shootings and mass murders - such as the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut - those weapons were semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines and "military" features such as pistol grips, flash suppressors and collapsible or folding stocks. These types of firearms were designed for war...designed for the military on the battlefield...where obviously, the goal is to rapidly kill as many enemy soldiers as is possible. Such weapons have no place in civilan life and - as I stated above - and I stated in my original commentary - NOBODY SHOULD OWN THEM. That is why I wrote in my column that the owner or clerk of a gun shop...needs to contact their local law enforcement agency...their local police...when anyone...ANYONE...enters a gun shop and inquires about purchasing an assault rifle. But again...if I had my say about it...NOBODY would own a rifle..a handgun...or ANY GUN. GBD
DeleteI am talking about the writer of the article so I guess that's you. You have proven my point that you don't know anything about firearms.
DeleteAs you said:
"The very basic difference between an assault rifle and a regular rifle is that an assault rifle is capable of both semi-automatic and full automatic fire with one pull of the trigger. A "regular" rifle only fires once each time the trigger is pulled."
Semi-automatic IS one shot per pull of the trigger. So an assault rifle and your "regular" rifle are the exact same thing in that regard. Fully automatic weapons are illegal. Assault rifles are not fully automatic. You and the rest of the media get tricked into this word game where you think "assault rifle" is somehow a military weapon that shoots hundreds of rounds a minute. An assault rifle is no different than any other rifle. You can go buy a semi-automatic rifle to hunt ducks with and it has the same rate of fire as a gun sold as an "assault rifle". I assure you that nobody in the military is using a semi-automatic "assault rifle" like the ones you can go buy in your local gun shop. Despite what you think (and it's quite obvious that you didn't know and just copied some terms you found online) assault rifles aren't anywhere close to military style weapons.
The fact of the matter is that NOBODY should own or use ANY kind of assault rifle or assault weapon. They should be banned - plain and simple. Guns of any sort that are capable of loading magazines of ammunition that shoot rounds and rounds of bullets should be prohibited and banned in this country. Call them what you want...but NOBODY needs to own a gun - not hunters, not people protecting themselves at home, not anybody - that will shoot bullet after bullet after bullet. Such weapons should only be built for use in the military or use by special law enforcement SWAT teams. I do know what I'm talking about when discussing assault weapons and NOBODY needs to own one. Therefore, I return to the same comment I made in my original commentary. If a gun shop owner or clerk is approached by ANY person inquiring about buying an assault weapon of any kind then local police need to be contacted. If I owned that store, I'd want to know why someone felt it necessary to make such a purchase. It is, therefore, essential that a law be passed to ban assault weapons of ALL kinds and for EVERY SINGLE PERSON who wants to purchase ANY GUN at all MUST be subject to a complete and thorough universal background check. Until these laws are passed, there will unfortunately be more murders in this country that clearly could be avoided. WE HAVE GOT TO GET THE GUNS. GBD
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