MO: KC Mayor James "Violence is committed by guns." ?

Gun Watch ^ | 13 September, 2014 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

There has been much talk about how "progressives" do not believe in individual responsibility.  There is the stereotype that liberals attribute volitional powers to firearms, that firearms cause violence.   In anticipation of the veto override  of SB656 in Missouri, Mayor Sly James gave a speech in Kansas City, MO.

The transcript from fox4kc.com shows:

Violence, the mayor says is committed by guns.

I listened to the video of the speech.  That sentence is not recorded from Mayor James, but is reported as being said by Kerri Stowell of Fox4news.  As I heard it , she said that Mayor James said "Too much violence is committed by guns".

It does not matter  much whether the Mayor said it or if Kerri Stowell misquoted him.  It is a major misuse of the language to say that violence is committed "by" guns instead of "with" guns.   "By guns" attributes agency and volition to guns, a nonsensical statement.   "With guns" correctly attributes agency and volition to the people using the guns.

I see and hear this usage repeatedly.   I do not think it is accidental.  Saying that violence is committed "by guns" removes the volition and responsibility from human hands, and offers a simplistic and irrational solution to a complex problem.   Remove the guns, and you remove the violence.   As with most simplistic solutions to complex problems, it only creates more problems.

©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

[Vaquero]

Marxist POS.

[x1stcav]

KC is approximately 800 miles from here to the East.

Thank God! I’d hate to be anywhere near those idiots.

(Speaking to you from the number 3-6 county with the highest number, per capita, of CCR’s)

[Lazamataz]

I agree with the mayor, so I left my weapon and a box of ammunition on the table, and put a webcam on it.

Curiously, my weapon never loaded itself, never left the table, and never committed acts of violence.

So I sent the following letter:

Dear Mayor James,

My firearm does not seem to be committing acts of violence. I think it is defective. Would you please issue some funds so I can replace it with a more violent gun?

Hugs and kisses,

Laz

[Paladin2]

Too much violins?

Maybe they need more cowbell.

[umgud]

No that there’s just plain funny.

[umgud]

no=now

[centurion316]

It is forbidden in Kansas City to mention anything about any suspects in violent crime in this city. They are all mysterious citizens and youths who have no names, for whom no photographs exist, and they have no known associates. They are like the ghost riders in the sky, descending from those cloudy draws, committing acts of violence that are destroying many of the city’s iconic locations, and then disappearing into the mists.

The Mayor does have a solution, however. More money and programs for his favorite neighborhoods. That is sure to solve this nonexistent problem.

[elcid1970]

My handguns are locked up in my safe.

Good thing, too. I hear constant pounding noises from the inside & muffled cries of “Let us out!!”

But when I throw open the safe door, they’re just all lying quietly on the shelves, not making a peep.

Devious little b@stards, those handguns are......

[Zack Attack]

Can see a future headline now...

"Man sentenced for murder freed from prison...his gun confesses to the murder."

[logic101.net]

Wow, I have lots of guns, maybe I should be worried that one of them may become violent, even though they have all been pretty well behaved so far. Maybe they are like pit bulls, nice dogs until they just turn....

[Caipirabob]

Hmmm... Is “breathing” committed by Oxygen?

[niteowl77]

Blaming human actions on inanimate items as some sort of witch doctor might do doesn't get you very far where logic and reason have a foothold. Obviously hizzoner knows his constituency.

Oh, and his choice in ties is… "interesting."

Mr. niteowl77

[smokingfrog]

The other day, Mayor James held a celebrity-studded event aimed at discouraging truancy and celebrating local youngsters who had somehow motivated themselves to attend school and were now the better for it. It was one of any number of admirable things that Sly James has done as mayor.

Except that one of the most prominently-featured celebrities was a KC native who has attained great “success” as a gangsta rapper, Tech N9ne.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/09/kc_mayor_touts_gangsta_rapper_as_role_model.html?print=1#ixzz3DIkAuETh

[libstripper]

You clearly lack a large SUV. All you need todo is combine your guns and the SUV. Then, together, they, on their own, will go to the nearest nursery school and perpetrate a massacre of innocents that only ISIS could her proud of.

[Bob]

Somewhere on the Internet, there’s a webcam that a guy has set up showing his gun 24/7. So far, it hasn’t even moved at all. I guess it’s another one of those defective guns.

[driftless2]

Here in Wisconsin there’s probably more guns than the population of around five million. None of the cites, except for Milwaukee, are shooting galleries despite the amount of firepower. Why is that?

[T-Bird45]

Sounds like this was the result of a black politician making the usual pandering statement that was then re-arranged by a blonde news bimbo to meet her own worldview. Neither participant is in the least connected to any reality or common sense generally recognized by the rest of us.

[Chode]

Smith & Wesson LIVE Gun-Cam

Gun Cam is Active

[Fred Hayek]

You mean you never saw your firearm levitate all by itself? You would have heard it when it made a noise sounding like some cheesy 1950’s science fiction movie!