On the Aurora Tragedy

Andy Richter of late-night-with-Conan fame had a wonderful article on Huffington Post this morning. His views are a bit more moderate than my own on gun control but it's a wonderfully thoughtful piece to consider in the wake of such a devastating and senseless tragedy that has spurred another debate on gun-control.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-richter/aurora-shooting-gun-rights_b_1696455.html


Some poignant excepts:

"And yes, I know it jammed; how many more would have died if it hadn't?"

"[Assault weapons] are allowing madmen to efficiently murder much larger numbers of innocent people than they would be able to with more conventional guns. Doesn't that matter? Doesn't that trump our desire to destroy a paper target with hundreds of rounds per minute?"

"The Bill of Rights is basically a list of things that we, as citizens of this new experimental nation, as Americans, NEEDED. Nothing covered by the Bill of Rights is unneeded."


And my thoughts on the article, and more specifically the issue of gun control at large:

Of the Aurora tragedy, simply imagine if the gun hadn't jammed. That is scary enough in my opinion that would necessitate abolishing these crazy assault weapons. I have yet to understand a rational reason that one would need a machine gun to protect oneself and Andy Richter states that magnificently. Rights are meant to protect needs, and no one honestly needs 100 bullets in a target in one instant unless they are trying to murder a LOT of innocent people.

I will never own a gun and most probably will never shoot one. My late grandfather owned a number of rifles and was an avid hunter; I do not share that passion one bit. But given hunting as a sport with regulations and permits, I fully endorse the idea of living in a country with reasonable gun control. Even as one who has never had any interest in guns at all, I respect the rights of people who do and allow rifles and handguns for sport or self-defense. It's when excessive violence is so publicly accessible that it both becomes needless and only serves to frighten an American culture that is based on fear already.

We seem to have this same gun debate every time there's a horrific shooting, but nothing seems to be done. So do something. I urge anyone who feels the same to write, to talk with friends and family, and probably most important: contact their politicians. If they won't listen, vote them out. If that won't work, run for office. Democracy is only as dead as the citizens allow it to be.