Tag Archives: Gun control

Can Americans Agree on Gun Control Laws?

27 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by in Human Behavior, United States, Urban Violence

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Guns for Sale at a Wal-Mart Store - United States

Guns for sale at a Wal-Mart Store in the United States

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com

 

Under the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution, I have the right to own as many guns as I consider necessary to protect my home and for my personal safety. The Second Amendment reads:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

With the ease of buying a firearm and ammunition, it is no surprise that the United States outranks all other nations in the number of privately-owned firearms – estimated at 270 million in 2007, the equivalent of 88.8 firearms per 100 people (www.gunpolicy.org).

President Obama’s call for more effective gun control laws – following the December 2012 massacre of twenty first-graders and six adults at an elementary school in Connecticut – has not only led to an outcry in defense of private gun ownership but also a rise in gun sales. Some fear that the talk of gun control is really a government ploy to take away their guns. Fear makes us irrational.

The Connecticut and other gun massacres during 2012 are resounding alerts of the consequences of firearm proliferation across our nation. During the period 1980 to 2008, more than two-thirds of victims murdered by a spouse or ex-spouse were killed with a gun (Bureau of Justice Statistics). In 2011 nationwide, firearms were used in 67.7 percent of murders, 41.3 percent of robberies, and 21.2 percent of aggravated assaults (Federal Bureau of Investigation).

Having a gun does not guarantee our survival against armed home invaders; estranged husbands or boyfriends; and psychopathic or mentally ill gunmen on the street, in our workplace, school, university, shopping mall or cinema. Before going on his killing spree, the mentally ill Connecticut killer first shot his mother with one of her own firearms.

I do not trust defenders of our Second Amendment rights who call for more guns in the hands of “the good guys” as a solution to gun violence. These defenders usually represent organizations that profit from the production and sales of firearms. They are well versed in stoking our fears of losing our right to defend and protect ourselves and loved ones.

I do not understand the significance of “a well regulated militia” for our nation in the Year 2013. Our Armed Forces are the greatest and best equipped on Planet Earth. If they cannot defend our nation against our enemies, owning a Bushmaster AR-15 high-powered semiautomatic rifle, like the one used by the Connecticut shooter, will not save me and my loved ones.

I support our president’s call for stricter gun control laws to curb gun violence and gun deaths across our nation. Do those who stand with the defenders of unrestrained gun and ammunition sales have the courage to let go of their irrational fears? Must our right “to keep and bear arms” supersede all other rights as citizens in a free society?

Year 2012: Reflections

30 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by in United States

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Happy New Year 2013Source: calconews.com

 

My goal to write and publish a weekly blog article continued to be a challenge in 2012. I extend special thanks to the publisher of the Guyanese Online Newsletter for re-posting my articles on his blog. Thanks, too, to you my ‘follower’ and visitor for taking the time to read my posts and for sharing your own thoughts. May you realize your goals and dreams in the year ahead.

I failed to achieve my major goal of completing the revision of my first novel, Under the Tamarind Tree. Frustration badgered me for six months before I devised a workable system for cutting the excess length. In 2013, I aim to complete the revision process, have my manuscript edited by a professional, and find an agent.

As if my frustrations as a writer were not enough, I also had to deal with contentious issues raised during the US presidential election campaign. Right-wing politicians sought to regulate women’s sexual and reproductive rights. Some of the stuff coming out of their mouths baffled and offended me. Have we failed as mothers in raising our male offspring?

In a video leaked to the press, a presidential candidate dismissed 47 percent of Americans as dependent on government handouts who do not take personal responsibility for their lives. That hurt. Is there hope for changing the rules of an economic system that is controlled by and favors the rich?

When Hurricane Sandy developed into a Frankenstorm intent on obliterating America’s northeastern states, it seemed as though the gods were warning us to get our act together as guardians of Planet Earth. While 97 percent of climatologists agree that mankind is causing global warming (ScienceBlogs, 20 Jan 2009), the major culprits refuse to change their ways and continue to foment doubt about global warming. How do we – the 47 or 99 percent – convince them to take responsibility in caring for our planet? Many of those who lost everything during the Frankenstorm will not recover from the blow and will join the 47 percent, already publicly derided as moochers who want stuff.

Before we could recover from the devastation of Frankenstorm Sandy, a troubled young man kills his mother – with one of her own guns – and then goes on a killing spree at an elementary school, taking the lives of 20 children and 6 adults. Disturbing facts: the killer came from a wealthy, white, middle-class family of a well-to-do suburban neighborhood in the state with the highest per-capita income (US Census 2010). Can we curb our culture of violence and love of guns?

We face these and more challenges in the year ahead. Our world did not end on 12.21.2012 as some believed or feared. The American Dream came to an end. Can a dysfunctional government that caters to the interests of the One Percent end the glaring inequality we face as a nation? Our ability to come together to overcome the crises we faced in 2012 gives me hope that we will prevail.