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writing for godot

NRA and lack of education

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Written by Clint Hyde   
Monday, 20 May 2013 07:57
Am I paranoid? Do I worry that the State of California will take my vehicle, since it is registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles? After all, I bought it in another state so I must have brought it into California for some evil purpose. Combined with the fact that the state knows my address, age, height, approximate weight and that I need corrective lenses in order to operate any vehicle, I could really lose some sleep at night. The only comfort I have is my last moving violation is over 25 years ago, so the state must not have me on a watch list. But the day may come where they take my license away, hopefully not for another twenty years.

Does this mean I sympathize with those who want to block any effort by the government to require a background check and register the owner during the purchase of WMD? Even if you are not reading Pentagon briefings you probably still know that WMD means weapons of mass destruction. These potential gun owners (we say potential since we don’t know if they already own a dozen or more weapons) are worried the government will use this registry to take their guns and ammunition away. Does the FBI or CIA need a registry to take away weapons? I doubt it. Given the liberties we have already given away in the name of The War on Terrorism, the government doesn’t even need a search warrant to do that.

I am not a worrier since my parents never gave me that paranoid gene. But I do make an effort to know who has guns. When my kids were in middle and high school I told them that statistically the chance of being shot by someone is highest among those people you know. So I advised them to ask those people they knew if they have guns. Of course, some people wouldn’t tell you if they did own a weapon. That’s why I think there should only be “unconcealed” weapon permits. Make them wear the gun on their hips in plain view, just like in the Wild West.

When I hired a new receptionist for my office, she informed me on the first day that she had a restraining order against her husband. He had brutally abused her and their oldest son. Naturally I asked if that order applied to the office. When she confirmed it included the workplace I knew I did not want to become acquainted with him. How many stories have we all read about angry men who storm the work place or court house to kill their spouse? My next question to my new hire was, “Does he own a gun?” When she told me he owned twenty-three I blurted out that nobody in their right mind needs that many rifles.

Would a background check have revealed that this man was a terrorist in his own family? Probably not if he owned them all prior to getting married and launching into this abusive behavior. When the police were repeatedly called to his home they probably asked if he had any guns. He could have given them two or three and the police would have felt they had done their job. But wouldn’t it help if there were a registry of guns, assuming he had to fill out some forms each time he bought one throughout his lifetime?

His membership in the NRA would not have flagged anything wrong with his lifestyle, behavior or ownership of many forms of WMD. The National Rifle Association doesn’t do any education. They claim they do on their website, but technically all the NRA offers is training. What’s the difference? Education would include where it is appropriate to have and hold a gun and when owners should avoid handling them. The NRA wants to train everyone in how to load, fire, clean and unload, but they don’t want to educate owners that it is not safe to put the rifle in the corner of the kitchen. Recently a two year old girl was shot to death in Kentucky by a five year old. Everyone thought the rifle was no longer loaded. So much for training. But education would have told the family that there is no purpose for a rifle in the kitchen where this happened. I have contacted the NRA several times to ask if they wouldn’t include more “education” among their programs for members. The lack of response probably means I am sure I am on their Enemy List. Yes, they have one.

Some people purchase guns that make no sense to their lifestyle. I can understand someone who hunts or enjoys shooting at targets for sport. But do they need a gun to protect themselves in the National Parks? Or at a town hall meeting? But do they need an assault weapon? Twenty-three fully functional guns? In the months since the massacre in the school in Newtown, Connecticut, no one seems to have asked why the mother of Adam Lanza would buy such a WMD. Maybe she was just as mentally unstable as her son. But now we will never know. Since December 14, 2012, thousands of individuals have been killed by guns. Don’t we want to know why?
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