Raquel Okyay
When actors, comedians, and musicians, funded by anti-firearm stalwart NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, demand a plan to end gun violence it is a powerful, personal message. But when the National Rifle Association proposes a plan to end gun violence their ideas are appalling and part of the problem.
The NRA has been in existence since 1871 committed to training, education and firearm marksmanship for both civilians and law enforcement officials.
During World War II, the association offered its ranges to the government, developed training materials for military and industrial security, and encouraged its members to volunteer as guards.
Today over 55,000 certified NRA instructors train about 750,000 gun owners a year. The NRA concentrates on gun safety and education projects aimed towards personal protection, recreation and benefitting the general public.
The NRA publically defends the Second Amendment to the Constitution; the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Our founding fathers often referred to the Second Amendment as the right that binds all others.
Actors, comedians, and musicians, on the other hand, provide art, entertainment, and creativity. Sounds good, but what the heck do they know about firearms, the Second Amendment, and gun safety? Next to nothing.
In fact, much of the entertainment world provides material of a violent and sexual nature and some would argue works to the detriment of immature minds. Actors oftentimes depict fictitious scenarios based on made-up situations with the goal of making themselves believable. So, it is not surprising that they expect us to adhere to demands that have no standing in reality.
No doubt there are many very talented individuals in the entertainment arena. However, they are usually not experts in gun safety, criminology, or observers of hard facts.
If we needed a solution to a medical controversy, we would call on the American Medical Association. If we were to debate aerospace exploration, we would turn to NASA. But when we engage in a discussion about gun violence, anti-gunners would like us to pay attention to the demands of the entertainment world; and dissociate ourselves from the very association that has a proven record of expertise in gun safety.
While both these groups have a First Amendment right to address our government with possible solutions to real problems, clearly the NRA is the group having the most credibility.
In response to the terrible tragedy at an elementary school in Newtown, CT on Dec. 14 where 26 people, mostly children, were murdered by a lone gunman, NRA CEO and Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre says the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun. If guns are good enough to protect our president we have a duty and right to protect our children with armed security at every school, he said.
Violent video games and blood-soaked movies, made to shock us are a toxic mix that encourages reckless behavior and criminal cruelty, he said. “There exists a callous, corrupt and shadow industry of violence against our own people.”
The NRA is putting together a panel of security experts to deploy a protection agency that draws upon every resource in order to prevent another unspeakable crime from occurring again, he said.
Here are the solutions proposed by Demand a Plan to End Gun Violence:
Require background checks for every gun sold in America;
Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines;
Make gun trafficking a federal crime, including real penalties for “straw purchasers”; and
Demand that your members of Congress and the president support these legislative priorities.
Rather than a knee-jerk reaction to serious issues, let’s take a look at the facts: There are already strict federal laws in place that requires background checks on sales of most guns. Many states have created restrictions on gun sales that go well beyond federal law. There is no evidence to show a correlation between gun ownership and gun violence, but there is evidence to show that restricting gun ownership contributes to higher crime rates.
We tried the so-called assault weapons ban in the U.S.A. for ten years but that law expired in 2004 since the effort did little or nothing to prevent violent crimes.
Sadly our own government was in the business of trafficking firearms to Mexican drug cartels, but we do not see the anti-gunners demanding we arrest them, why not?
We can demand of Congress anything we deem appropriate to keep us safe, but we should not demand that Congress close their eyes to the facts, cover their ears to the truth, and close their mouths for the sake of expediency.
One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation. –Thomas B. Reed (1886)
When actors, comedians, and musicians, funded by anti-firearm stalwart NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, demand a plan to end gun violence it is a powerful, personal message. But when the National Rifle Association proposes a plan to end gun violence their ideas are appalling and part of the problem.
The NRA has been in existence since 1871 committed to training, education and firearm marksmanship for both civilians and law enforcement officials.
During World War II, the association offered its ranges to the government, developed training materials for military and industrial security, and encouraged its members to volunteer as guards.
Today over 55,000 certified NRA instructors train about 750,000 gun owners a year. The NRA concentrates on gun safety and education projects aimed towards personal protection, recreation and benefitting the general public.
The NRA publically defends the Second Amendment to the Constitution; the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Our founding fathers often referred to the Second Amendment as the right that binds all others.
Actors, comedians, and musicians, on the other hand, provide art, entertainment, and creativity. Sounds good, but what the heck do they know about firearms, the Second Amendment, and gun safety? Next to nothing.
In fact, much of the entertainment world provides material of a violent and sexual nature and some would argue works to the detriment of immature minds. Actors oftentimes depict fictitious scenarios based on made-up situations with the goal of making themselves believable. So, it is not surprising that they expect us to adhere to demands that have no standing in reality.
No doubt there are many very talented individuals in the entertainment arena. However, they are usually not experts in gun safety, criminology, or observers of hard facts.
If we needed a solution to a medical controversy, we would call on the American Medical Association. If we were to debate aerospace exploration, we would turn to NASA. But when we engage in a discussion about gun violence, anti-gunners would like us to pay attention to the demands of the entertainment world; and dissociate ourselves from the very association that has a proven record of expertise in gun safety.
While both these groups have a First Amendment right to address our government with possible solutions to real problems, clearly the NRA is the group having the most credibility.
In response to the terrible tragedy at an elementary school in Newtown, CT on Dec. 14 where 26 people, mostly children, were murdered by a lone gunman, NRA CEO and Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre says the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun. If guns are good enough to protect our president we have a duty and right to protect our children with armed security at every school, he said.
Violent video games and blood-soaked movies, made to shock us are a toxic mix that encourages reckless behavior and criminal cruelty, he said. “There exists a callous, corrupt and shadow industry of violence against our own people.”
The NRA is putting together a panel of security experts to deploy a protection agency that draws upon every resource in order to prevent another unspeakable crime from occurring again, he said.
Here are the solutions proposed by Demand a Plan to End Gun Violence:
Require background checks for every gun sold in America;
Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines;
Make gun trafficking a federal crime, including real penalties for “straw purchasers”; and
Demand that your members of Congress and the president support these legislative priorities.
Rather than a knee-jerk reaction to serious issues, let’s take a look at the facts: There are already strict federal laws in place that requires background checks on sales of most guns. Many states have created restrictions on gun sales that go well beyond federal law. There is no evidence to show a correlation between gun ownership and gun violence, but there is evidence to show that restricting gun ownership contributes to higher crime rates.
We tried the so-called assault weapons ban in the U.S.A. for ten years but that law expired in 2004 since the effort did little or nothing to prevent violent crimes.
Sadly our own government was in the business of trafficking firearms to Mexican drug cartels, but we do not see the anti-gunners demanding we arrest them, why not?
We can demand of Congress anything we deem appropriate to keep us safe, but we should not demand that Congress close their eyes to the facts, cover their ears to the truth, and close their mouths for the sake of expediency.
One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation. –Thomas B. Reed (1886)
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