Gun Control

***DISCLAIMER: This is something I wrote a number of years ago on an old blog that I felt was still relevant, given the current political climate, and wanted to share. Keep in mind: I struggle with the concepts of politics. I claim no allegiance to any political party. So none of this is politically "motivated" or serves as any type of propaganda for either side of the aisle. And, this material is owned by no one other than me. Its original version can be found on my Wordpress page at angelbabies0815.wordpress.com - for reference.***

PEOPLE MIGHT KILL PEOPLE BUT…

…they do it with guns. Amiright? Well, I mean, they can do it with any weapon they want, I suppose. Don’t misunderstand… I most certainly am not devaluing personal responsibility in ANY way. Personal responsibility is a value I have (tried) to instill in my children all their lives. It is a phrase I repeat FAR too many times on a regular basis. So, yes, there IS a level of personal accountability for the commission of violent crimes and the use of weapons during said crimes.

So… that 2nd amendment thing… this is the way I see it: when the Bill of Rights was written, it was during a time when the US was making its break from England. It was written as an AFTERTHOUGHT because the Constitution only outlined how this ‘new country’ was to be governed, and said nothing about what was NOT allowed. Four years later, the Bill of Rights was born. Now, mind you, while we all sit around preaching about ‘this’ amendments protections, and ‘that’ amendments protections we forget something crucial in its history: it ONLY applied towards WHITE MALES.

Over the last…220+ years, I’d say that things have changed a bit, have they not? I mean, what is different now as opposed to then? Back then, women couldn’t vote. The Constitution along with its Bill of Rights was finally ratified in 1791. It took another…nearly 130 YEARS to give them that right!! Wait a damn second!! James Madison called them “natural rights!” “the rights of all mankind” !!! “Unalienable!” My last post mentions this quote with regard to “gay rights” and how those are (or…should be) included. Just ICYMI (“in case you missed it”) the phrase goes like this: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” But YET… it takes almost 130 years for someone to go, “Damn. Women gotta have the right to vote. We should REALLY put that shit in the Constitution.” We had to be GIVEN the CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to vote in this country. What…the actual hell?? That doesn’t sound “unalienable” to me, but…what the hell do I know? I’m just a woman, right? I’ll give another example: blacks never had rights either. They were just uneducated slaves, after all. What do they know about politics? Or anything else for that matter. Slavery was a thing. Then it wasn’t. AND THAT became part of the Constitution through the 13th Amendment 74 years after the Constitution was written. Again… “all men are created equal” in this “new” country. Why the eff are we not TREATING them as equal??? How did slavery even HAPPEN in this country where all men are created equal?? CRIMINALS are given rights THROUGH THE CONSTITUTION– addressed in MANY Amendments: 5-8. REALLY? CRIMINALS? Who you ASSUME did SOMETHING to warrant being in trouble in some way, right? Oh wait, EVERYONE is innocent until proven guilty. HA!! LOL!! That’s a joke…and a blog for another day.

I guess really all I am trying to show is that when this country was founded, a Constitution was written defining how this country was going to be run. People had an issue with the lack of a Bill of Rights, so one had to be established in order for the Constitution to even be recognized as the law of the land. Mind you, there are only TEN original Rights as outlined by the Constitution. But over time, things changed. People changed. The country changed. And Amendments HAD to be written! To the point that we started with 10 (though I’m still kinda shaky on how an ENTIRE COUNTRY can function on only 10 principles, but again…I’m a chick, so…what do I know?)… and now we have 27???? How do you suppose THAT happens??

Everyone is ALWAYS crying about their civil rights being violated, and MORE SO nowadays. It was so much an issue that the ACLU was created in 1920. There is an entire organization DEDICATED to fighting for every single Americans’ civil rights…AS OUTLINED BY THE CONSTITUTION… because SO MANY were violating and abusing the rights of others, with no recourse. It was no longer about being “united”, because, lets just be honest…that was never a thing. This country hasn’t been “unified” on any front politically…at least as long as I have a conscious memory of the political process. And even sometimes NOT on a political level… just individually!! People want THEIR rights protected, but not OTHERS’ rights. People want THEIR interests protected, but f*ck that trans guy over there, because his lifestyle doesn’t MESH with my ideas about life. And people who don’t even OWN a gun are screaming about gun control laws and how someone else’s 2nd Amendment rights are being threatened. NO THEY AREN’T!!!

Let’s talk about the 2nd amendment for a minute. Cornell University’s Law School quotes the 2nd Amendment as stating: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The National Constitution Center explains a little bit about the “history”- if you will- behind the 2nd Amendment and why the Founding Fathers felt the need to include it. It fuels the debates we hear about the ‘infringement’ of one’s right to bear arms. But that isn’t even the reason it was enacted. It was enacted because as the 13 colonies were establishing their own country, separating themselves from Britain’s tyranny, they needed to establish their own army for the purposes of fighting foreign enemies, however, these armies were made of citizens who had to supply their OWN weapons. They also believed a person had the right to protect their home and property from “sudden invasions or other emergencies.” To that end, OF COURSE they would have to create something that allowed them to do so legally. And lets face it, the world is going CRAY-ZEE!!! And I’m not debating that one should have the right to protect their home, their family and their property– BUT NOT WITH MILITARY GRADE WEAPONS!!! I don’t think that is unreasonable!! And that is the debate!! “WE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO PURCHASE ASSAULT-TYPE WEAPONS BECAUSE THE SECOND AMENDMENT SAYS WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO!!” The 2nd Amendment, in my opinion, has ZERO language regarding the TYPES of weapons one has the right to use to protect their private interests. But in all honesty, WHY is it necessary to have a full ARSENAL when you only need ONE to protect your home?? WHY is it necessary to own assault-type semi, or fully automatic weapons, military grade, or otherwise for SPORT HUNTING??? There really isn’t, folks, and I don’t care what you say…there just ISN’T. Gangs on the streets are KILLING KIDS because we ALLOW IT. We allow it by NOT BANNING ASSAULT WEAPONS for purchase by private citizens! We allow it by not TRULY taking stock in the violence in this country; which by the way is REAL easy to do because there is empirical data very easily accessible through the FBI’s website. We allow it by not electing government officials who will ACTUALLY do something about it, and by continuing to FUCK with the straight up idiots sitting in that giant room in the Capitol building. They are JACKHOLES. So…your rights REALLY aren’t even being infringed upon. Its sad that this has to be explained… But if they WERE, let’s just take one second to think about the evolution of gun violence in this country. In 2014 (and I’m sorry for the 2 year old statistic, but, 2015’s haven’t been released by the FBI yet), according to the FBI’s UCR (Uniform Crime Report) there were a total of 1.2 MILLION assault offenses that occurred in this country. Out of those, GUNS were used in a total of almost 64% of all murders in this country that year, 40% of all robberies, and over 22% of all ‘aggravated’ assaults. So…over HALF of all the murders that occurred in this country in 2014, were committed with SOME type of gun. Frankly, I won’t break down what KIND, because it doesn’t really matter.

So….the Brady Act. Anyone know why its called that?? Has anyone ever seen a little known made for TV movie called “Without Warning: The James Brady Story” ?? It aired 28 years ago, so… 1991. It is the true story of James Brady, President Reagan’s Press Secretary in the 1980’s. If anyone remembers the assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. on Reagan’s life in 1981, James Brady was shot along with the President a police officer and a Secret Service agent. The shooting left him brain damaged and partially paralyzed forever. Following this deranged, delusion-fueled act of violence, Brady and his wife pushed the Brady Bill, which was ultimately passed in 1993. What exactly drove this wackjob to commit this act? It was NOT his right to possess a weapon. It was his obsession with Jodie Foster (whom he had begun STALKING back in the 70’s!!!), and the movie “Taxi Driver”- in which the main character becomes obsessed with a prostitute and stalked a Presidential candidate- that drove him to this murderous act. And it was not the first time he had tried. He thought this would make Jodie Foster like him, when she had previously rejected him. He had planned to assassinate President Carter, but failed before he could even approach him. Seriously?! It wasn’t his RIGHT to ‘bear arms’ that made him feel the need to possess a gun!! HE WAS A CERTIFIABLE LUNATIC WHO NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAD ACCESS TO A WEAPON OF ANY KIND!!! He was a drifter with KNOWN mental health issues. He was on prescription meds for depression as well as… TRANQUILIZERS (yeah! Can’t make this shit up!) By 1980, just two years after buying his first handgun, this nutcase now had a collection that included: 3 handguns & 2 rifles. EVEN BETTER? In Nashville, he was popped for those weapons by airport security!!! THEY CONFISCATED THEM!! He was fined….. $62.50?!??!! AND SENT ON HIS MERRY WAY. And if THAT isn’t fucked up enough, the dude turned around and bought TWO MORE handguns shortly thereafter. But HEY! “HE HAS RIGHTS!!” (said in my best southern drawl). ARE YOU KIDDING?!

Prior to the Reagan shooting, the only law in effect regarding gun control was the National Firearm Act of 1934. 19….30…..4!! According to the ATF website, this “imposed a tax on the making and transfer of firearms defined by the Act, as well as a special (occupational) tax on persons and entities engaged in the business of importing, manufacturing, and dealing in NFA firearms.” The NFA defines them as: “shotguns and rifles having barrels less than 18 inches in length, certain firearms described as ‘any other weapons,’ machine guns, firearm mufflers and silencers.” The website also states that it was enacted mostly as a means to tax the things, and less about protection of citizens. The tax imposed in 1934 was $200….and has REMAINED $200 ever since. REMAINED…THE…SAME. $200 is easy enough to get your hands on!! REALLY?!? And in 80+ years NO ONE EVER THOUGHT MAYBE WE SHOULD JACK THAT UP A BIT!!!??? Maybe make things a little tougher for people?!?! Back then they felt it was “adequate” enough to….how is it worded? “carry out Congress’ purpose to discourage or eliminate transactions in these firearms.” OHHHHH!! I get it!! Back then, $200 was hard to come up with! It’s today’s $500…or $1,000 I guess. And it has NOT CHANGED IN OVER 80 YEARS. Let me just pause here for a moment (for dramatic effect) ………………………………………………………………… Oh but wait.... it gets BETTER.

Let me just say– I am SO glad I chose to discuss this issue. I have never really studied the gun control laws or their history so, this is enlightening for me, and I hope it sheds some light for all of you as well. This issue, AT ITS HEART, is NOT really about your 2nd frickin amendment right to “bear arms.” This is about gun control OVERALL and how since its inception 82 years ago, things have changed, become more dangerous, more violent, and MUST BE CHANGED!!! People need to get OFF their 2nd Amendment soapboxes and STOP and THINK about what is ACTUALLY, PHYSICALLY happening in this country!! TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE!! I see things floating around Facebook that say something to the effect of “I should feeling safer knowing a dude standing in line behind me has a Glock on his hip” because of the potential for someone to come shoot up the store. NO! NO I WON’T FEEL SAFER JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE ALLOWED TO CARRY IT!!! I’M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THAT!! Perfect example: I was in Franklin working with my boyfriend a couple of years ago, and while working up there, we basically lived up there. One day, I was at the laundromat and a COUPLE walked in…BOTH of them carrying their holstered handguns conspicuously on their hip. And I can tell you right now, my first thought was NOT, “Shit. If some disgruntled laundromat patron comes to shoot up the laundromat, we’re SET because THOSE TWO have guns.” LMFAO Uhh… NO. My first thought was, “I hope they don’t flip the bitch switch and try to KILL ALL OF US IN THIS LAUNDROMAT!”

Anyway… had to take a slight detour for a moment…sorry. Back to the NFA. This thing also makes it mandatory for any gun owner to register their weapons with the Secretary of the Treasury, who then must notify the state the owner resides in of their ownership of said weapon. Supposedly, the theory here was that the government could prosecute anyone who violated the law. Then there was the Haynes decision in 1968 which basically rendered this bill UNENFORCEABLE. What?! ARE YOU KIDDING?? Why, you ask? Well, according to the ATF website: “a person prosecuted for possessing an unregistered NFA firearm had a valid defense to the prosecution — the registration requirement imposed on the possessor of an unregistered firearm violated the possessor’s privilege from self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” WHAT?! So then these meatheads have to go back and cover their collective ASSES before someone figures this all out and declares mutiny, so they AMEND the bill with “Title II of the GCA.” And really, all it did, in my opinion…was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Even though a person is mandated to register their weapon with the US Treasury, there’s supposedly no way to do so…? WELL WHY WOULDN’T THEY HANDLE THAT WHEN THEY MADE THE LAW IN THE FIRST PLACE?!! Secondly, “a provision was added to the law prohibiting the use of any information from an NFA application or registration as evidence against the person in a criminal proceeding with respect to a violation of law occurring prior to or concurrently with the filing of the application or registration.” I have re-read this section 4 times trying to understand. THEY CAN’T USE ANYTHING AGAINST A PERSON IF THEY VIOLATED THE LAW BEFORE THEY REGISTERED THE GUN?! *facepalm* Wow. Priceless. So fast forward to 1986, and another amendment is added to this already bogus, self-defeating law wherein the sale or transfer of machine guns is prohibited. Except for military personnel (DUH) and a “grandfather clause” for people who owned said machine guns PRIOR TO the amendment being applied in 1986. GREAT. So if you are a psycho who owned a gun before they said you had to register it, that’s okay!! You still don’t have to!!! UGH! So…. fast forward from 1968–> 1981. Back to the Reagan assassination attempt. Then fast forward AGAIN to 1993… TWELVE YEARS after the shooting. The Brady Bill was signed into law by President Clinton. The Brady Bill “changed the existing ‘lie-and-buy’ system to a ‘background check-then-buy’ system by requiring that every sale of every gun by a licensed dealer be referred to law enforcement for a background check.” It also mandates a 5-day waiting period while conducting said background check before any handgun is allowed to exchange hands. Of course, this process is only for certain states…which don’t have an acceptable alternative process. And that’s the entirety of gun control?? Really? Please, help me understand. I try to create a mental timeline of the entirety of gun control, but…I am just struggling so much, that I don’t even care anymore! It has taken me 2 YEARS to write this ONE blog entry, because between the research, the vitriol, the attempts I’ve made to put things into perspective, deep thought and contemplation…I find myself falling short of making any sense out of HOW we justify this law, while shrugging our shoulders going, “Well, its our second amendment right…” A law that is effectively WORTHLESS according to the information above, UNENFORCEABLE based on the FIFTH amendment (HUH?!) and WEAK. People stand on this self-imposed pedestal, yammering on about their rights being imposed upon, but do ANY of them even really KNOW what its all about??? Or do they hear ONE thing and just roll with it? Because prior to my research about it, I really didn’t know jack shit about the 2nd amendment- other than its existence- and NOW, I feel even MORE strongly about it. And until this country take a good long look at the issue- from ALL angles (overall gun control, mental health, 2nd amendment, examples from other countries laws THAT WORK, etc), we will keep being smacked over the head with stories of people being killed in a movie theater, at a country music concert, parents snapping and killing their entire family, and whatever other twisted scenarios pop up. Its scary, and sad, and infuriating all at the same time. And it leaves me- and many others- feeling very insecure and angry at the lack of action on the part of our government to make effective laws to protect the people of this country from further gun violence.