The crazy just gets crazier. Yesterday the Republicans staged a real fiasco where the House passed a bill to cut aid to the poor and elderly but couldn’t even manage to increase taxes on incomes over a million dollars. I thought it couldn’t be out done. But riding the crest of crazy, the NRA surpassed even the United States House of Representatives!
At a news conference this morning Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the death cult, announced that the NRA had a great idea to stop gun violence in the schools: armed policemen at every school. This is a stupid idea in oh so many ways. But consider the logic here: shooting at a school? Put armed guards at all schools! Shooting at a church? Put armed guards at all churches! Shooting at a movie theater? You see what’s happening.
This is just the NRA’s usual argument that an armed society is a polite society. If everyone is armed, we’ll all be nicer to each other! This won’t lead to the smallest of conflicts turning violent. Nope. That couldn’t happen at all!
But this does bring up an important point: mass shootings, horrific as they are, are not the problem. There are over 10,000 gun-related deaths per year, and very few of these are people protecting their homes from an intruder. Even more kill themselves with guns. We have lots of problems in the United States that relate to these statistics. But primarily, it is a gun problem. Here’s something: gun purchase waiting periods dramatically decrease suicide rates. That seems like an easy reform that saves lives. Of course, the NRA is against it.
It is indeed strange that the NRA would rather we turn America into a police state rather than yield on the smallest of gun legislation. And what is the reason? I really don’t know. The craziest of them think they have to have guns to protect against a tyrannical government. So they call for a tyrannical government? “Give me guns or give me death! Liberty not so much.”
Afterword
Wayne LaPierre took no questions. Some press conference.
Update (21 December 2012 11:26)
If only an armed guard could be placed next to every state trooper. gaw.kr/ZZOk1O
— Jim Naureckas (@JNaureckas) December 21, 2012
