Things That Concern Me - Guns - August 28th, 2012
Guns, yo. Guns. Before we start this, I need to admit that I’m not too well versed on the NRA side or even the gun control side but I needed a topic of concern for August and this seemed pretty concerning at this point in time. As uneducated as I am, my opinion is that there is probably a better way of going about who and how people get guns in America.
I hopped on Facebook this morning and saw a conversation between two girls I went to grade school with. They are both now married with children and were discussing the fear of allowing their kids to go to school because of the gun violence. One of them has a child in the elementary school that is attached to the high school where a teen got shot today. It kind of threw me for a loop, because a) they are married with children and I believe the last time I talked to either of them was after one of our soccer games in 5th grade and b) it was never a fear I or they had growing up. Our biggest fear was probably whether or not the school cafateria ladies made tater tots for lunch.
The gun issue always heightens when one asshole does something ridiculously and incredibly stupid and it starts a brief, yet terrifying trend, kind of like that acai trend a while back. (acai, what? exactly) The next thing you know, you have like eight more people who have seen what this guy did and think “hmm, that was good idea, now’s a good time for me to shoot up my workplace, you know, while it’s the cool thing.”
Once this happens, everyone begins to get up in arms (witty pun, I know) about guns. The country then kind of splits like the North and South during the Civil War. And you have to then listen to two sides, which happen to be the most extreme sides. You have the people who say guns need to be banned all together, which I then stop listening to, because there is no way that could possibly ever happen. Then you have the NRA people babbling on and on the second amendment rights and those other things that I stop paying attention to because a new episode of Pretty Little Liars is on.
The questions that often pop up in my head at these times go something like this:
Why is it okay that a person like this can get a gun?
"So, I live in California where assault rifles are illegal. I’m a crazed schizophrenic, I have no record, just a speeding ticket when I was 16, I want an assault rifle, and it’s so unfair I can’t buy one here. Oh, wait? I can just drive to Arizona and scoop one up? No biggie? (Oh, b-t-dubs guys, I’ve been off my meds for like a month now, shit’s happening inside of my brain)."
Why would anyone need a silencer on their gun? Why? Don’t tell me it’s to suppress the sound so the bears can’t hear the shot.
Hey, NRA members, have any of you had someone close to you killed by a gun? Have your views changed? (I tried to research this and found no such luck)
Guns are fun, and I totes get the thrill of being able to shoot God knows how many rounds repeatedly in a minute, but maybe there should be just one kind of place you can do that in? Maybe like how you can only bowl in a bowling alley and mini-golf at a mini-golf course, why can’t you just shoot at a shooting range?
I work for a (the) government agency that regulates guns, the purchase of, the ownership of, etc. “And if you don’t know, now you know _____ ...”
I have never shot a loaded gun that wasn’t filled with water or urine. Although there was one time I pointed an UNLOADED Glock into the back of a co-worker and yelled “put’em up!” as a joke. He didn’t find it amusing, at all and yelled “YOU DON’T DO THAT! YOU ASSUME EVERY GUN YOU HOLD IS UNSAFE!!” How was I supposed to know that? People point guns at people on TV daily. If you are wondering, my co-worker and I are still good friends... on Facebook, Twitter and real life. What up Louie? Not a single one of the of the agents I work with who enforce the gun laws have ever said they dislike guns or think they should all be banned, some of them are huge gun enthusiasts, HUGE.
My day job is kind of cool, with the aspect that I get to hold guns that range from the length of my finger to ones that are half or a bit more than my 5’8” stature. I’ve held and counted millions of rounds of ammunition that range from the size of my pinky fingernail to the size of my middle finger. Basically every single gun or piece of ammo you have ever seen on TV or in a movie I have held and pretended I was a drug dealer with a heart of gold, Rambo, a rape or home invasion victim just trying to protect herself, or in Vietnam… and then some. So trust me, I get the gist. But with all the gun violence we wake up to and read about on Twitter, or get phone calls from loved ones about because you're near the action and they are worried, it makes it clear, something is askew here.
Canadians.
Oh those lovely Canadians. Those out there Canadians, with their ice hockey, Molson beer, and their connections to the French... and of course, their universal healthcare see what's happening down here and they’re all like “Yo, America, what the fuck? What are you guys doing with your guns, eh?”
I can’t really explain, let alone want to explain the difference between America and Canada’s gun laws, so I will defer this to Kelly Oxford, a Canadian, recently relocated to Los Angeles, who is one of the funniest people on Twitter, who broke it down pretty well and pretty briefly... Kelly Oxford explains Canadian gun laws (also if you like laughing at least five times a day, follow her @kellyoxford ...don't worry gun enthusiasts, she doesn't talk about Canada's gun laws)
Trust me, I get impulse buying, it’s why I have three guitars, a PS2, Wii, XBOX 360 and 13 of the same v-necks in different colors. If you are really itching for a gun, buy the old Nintendo and Duck Hunt on Ebay for like thirty dollars.
Honestly, the closest I’ve ever been to someone I known being killed by a gun was when my college weed dealer who lived three doors down from us, opened up his townhouse door, and him and his cousin were shot in the foot and face, respectively. And by close, I mean he used to sell us weed and I was three doors down when I heard the shots*. I’ve never been emotionally, physically, or spiritually close to someone who was a victim of gun violence, if I were, maybe I would have stronger feelings against our gun laws.
Once again please understand, I don’t know too much about control outside of who can legally posses guns in the states of California and Washington D.C., but I do know something should probably change. I’ve never had a real solid stance on guns. I know it’s a second amendment right to “bare arms.” But I'm pretty sure these men who said that never could have fanthomed the guns we have today, probably like they wouldn't have dreamed a man named Steve Jobs would walk the planet. Maybe we should start with a universal law across the states? I don't know? I’m in no way saying ban all guns, because that would be impossible and I know that even with stricter gun laws people would still be able to get their hands on guns, but maybe not as many people that can right now. Hmm?
*footnote, he never dealt us weed, okay he did. Okay, I plead the fifth on whether or not he was my weed dealer who we all called Mike Jones because he told us to call him that, and when we saw him we’d be like “MIKE JONNESS.
I hopped on Facebook this morning and saw a conversation between two girls I went to grade school with. They are both now married with children and were discussing the fear of allowing their kids to go to school because of the gun violence. One of them has a child in the elementary school that is attached to the high school where a teen got shot today. It kind of threw me for a loop, because a) they are married with children and I believe the last time I talked to either of them was after one of our soccer games in 5th grade and b) it was never a fear I or they had growing up. Our biggest fear was probably whether or not the school cafateria ladies made tater tots for lunch.
The gun issue always heightens when one asshole does something ridiculously and incredibly stupid and it starts a brief, yet terrifying trend, kind of like that acai trend a while back. (acai, what? exactly) The next thing you know, you have like eight more people who have seen what this guy did and think “hmm, that was good idea, now’s a good time for me to shoot up my workplace, you know, while it’s the cool thing.”
Once this happens, everyone begins to get up in arms (witty pun, I know) about guns. The country then kind of splits like the North and South during the Civil War. And you have to then listen to two sides, which happen to be the most extreme sides. You have the people who say guns need to be banned all together, which I then stop listening to, because there is no way that could possibly ever happen. Then you have the NRA people babbling on and on the second amendment rights and those other things that I stop paying attention to because a new episode of Pretty Little Liars is on.
The questions that often pop up in my head at these times go something like this:
Why is it okay that a person like this can get a gun?
"So, I live in California where assault rifles are illegal. I’m a crazed schizophrenic, I have no record, just a speeding ticket when I was 16, I want an assault rifle, and it’s so unfair I can’t buy one here. Oh, wait? I can just drive to Arizona and scoop one up? No biggie? (Oh, b-t-dubs guys, I’ve been off my meds for like a month now, shit’s happening inside of my brain)."
Why would anyone need a silencer on their gun? Why? Don’t tell me it’s to suppress the sound so the bears can’t hear the shot.
Hey, NRA members, have any of you had someone close to you killed by a gun? Have your views changed? (I tried to research this and found no such luck)
Guns are fun, and I totes get the thrill of being able to shoot God knows how many rounds repeatedly in a minute, but maybe there should be just one kind of place you can do that in? Maybe like how you can only bowl in a bowling alley and mini-golf at a mini-golf course, why can’t you just shoot at a shooting range?
I work for a (the) government agency that regulates guns, the purchase of, the ownership of, etc. “And if you don’t know, now you know _____ ...”
I have never shot a loaded gun that wasn’t filled with water or urine. Although there was one time I pointed an UNLOADED Glock into the back of a co-worker and yelled “put’em up!” as a joke. He didn’t find it amusing, at all and yelled “YOU DON’T DO THAT! YOU ASSUME EVERY GUN YOU HOLD IS UNSAFE!!” How was I supposed to know that? People point guns at people on TV daily. If you are wondering, my co-worker and I are still good friends... on Facebook, Twitter and real life. What up Louie? Not a single one of the of the agents I work with who enforce the gun laws have ever said they dislike guns or think they should all be banned, some of them are huge gun enthusiasts, HUGE.
My day job is kind of cool, with the aspect that I get to hold guns that range from the length of my finger to ones that are half or a bit more than my 5’8” stature. I’ve held and counted millions of rounds of ammunition that range from the size of my pinky fingernail to the size of my middle finger. Basically every single gun or piece of ammo you have ever seen on TV or in a movie I have held and pretended I was a drug dealer with a heart of gold, Rambo, a rape or home invasion victim just trying to protect herself, or in Vietnam… and then some. So trust me, I get the gist. But with all the gun violence we wake up to and read about on Twitter, or get phone calls from loved ones about because you're near the action and they are worried, it makes it clear, something is askew here.
Canadians.
Oh those lovely Canadians. Those out there Canadians, with their ice hockey, Molson beer, and their connections to the French... and of course, their universal healthcare see what's happening down here and they’re all like “Yo, America, what the fuck? What are you guys doing with your guns, eh?”
I can’t really explain, let alone want to explain the difference between America and Canada’s gun laws, so I will defer this to Kelly Oxford, a Canadian, recently relocated to Los Angeles, who is one of the funniest people on Twitter, who broke it down pretty well and pretty briefly... Kelly Oxford explains Canadian gun laws (also if you like laughing at least five times a day, follow her @kellyoxford ...don't worry gun enthusiasts, she doesn't talk about Canada's gun laws)
Trust me, I get impulse buying, it’s why I have three guitars, a PS2, Wii, XBOX 360 and 13 of the same v-necks in different colors. If you are really itching for a gun, buy the old Nintendo and Duck Hunt on Ebay for like thirty dollars.
Honestly, the closest I’ve ever been to someone I known being killed by a gun was when my college weed dealer who lived three doors down from us, opened up his townhouse door, and him and his cousin were shot in the foot and face, respectively. And by close, I mean he used to sell us weed and I was three doors down when I heard the shots*. I’ve never been emotionally, physically, or spiritually close to someone who was a victim of gun violence, if I were, maybe I would have stronger feelings against our gun laws.
Once again please understand, I don’t know too much about control outside of who can legally posses guns in the states of California and Washington D.C., but I do know something should probably change. I’ve never had a real solid stance on guns. I know it’s a second amendment right to “bare arms.” But I'm pretty sure these men who said that never could have fanthomed the guns we have today, probably like they wouldn't have dreamed a man named Steve Jobs would walk the planet. Maybe we should start with a universal law across the states? I don't know? I’m in no way saying ban all guns, because that would be impossible and I know that even with stricter gun laws people would still be able to get their hands on guns, but maybe not as many people that can right now. Hmm?
*footnote, he never dealt us weed, okay he did. Okay, I plead the fifth on whether or not he was my weed dealer who we all called Mike Jones because he told us to call him that, and when we saw him we’d be like “MIKE JONNESS.
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