Posted on 12/30/2014 3:19:55 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
What country fetishizes, lionizes, valorizes, idolizes, and sacralizes guns as much as does our United States? OK, possibly Mozambique — the only country with an AK47 on its flag, but really, it's long past time to end this obsessive "My Precious" attachment of Americans to instruments of death.
This morning of Dec. 25, 2014, of the nine top stories from US Reuters, six were about shootings — four new ones and two about the national movement against shootings of citizens by police. This pandemic of sick violence, punctuated by mass killings of children, has gone on far, far too long. It is long past time to repeal the stupid Second Amendment.
The fate of the Second Amendment should have been sealed when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that past rulings by their predecessors were wrong, that in fact the amendment that provided for a "well regulated militia" really guaranteed every individual the right to own a gun. Wow. That is an interesting reading of the English language. What the Supremes have done is to not only warp the meaning and make it into twisted law, but to further prohibit states and local governments from declaring their places free of legal guns. The conservative court once again rules against the power of states, a principle that used to be associated with darn liberals who wanted to make sure everyone had the right to vote, for example, even though they weren't properly white enough. Now when a city or state wants to outlaw firearms, too bad. The conservatives took away their powers and rights in favor of Big Brother.
The only logical path, given the clearly decided role of the Second Amendment, is to repeal it. American people are tired of mass shootings and police shootings and family feud shootings and sibling shootings and accidental toddler shootings and teen suicide by gun (highly popular).We are exhausted by the proliferation of death, of threats, of bloodshed, and by the NRA/gun industry moral garbage spewing forth every time someone challenges the ubiquity of guns.
Repeal the Stupid Second Amendment. Surround it, grab it, bring it in the back room, pull down the shades, and end it. OK, petition for it, get it on the ballot, and get it done by enough of the US populace, by enough people in enough states, to get it consigned to the dustbin of history.
*******
Tom H. Hastings is PeaceVoice Director and teaches in the Conflict Resolution program at Portland State University in Oregon.
"...The people in ISIL are not a “cancer,” as President Obama claims. The massive and multifaceted global public health problem is violence, which shares characteristics with many diseases, such as cancer, meth addiction, the Black Death and Ebola. Violence is the disease, not the cure. This metaphor applies to the violence committed by ISIL and the US alike. Both claim to be using violence to eliminate injustice. Both ISIL and the US dehumanize entire swaths of people in order to justify that violence. Much like drug addicts, both armed groups alienate and indiscriminately harm others while claiming it’s in everyone’s best interest..."
Like many committed liberals, he believes there are no "bad" people, only people who have been forced to do things against their wills by bad environments or circumstances. That is why the Nazis carted away people like him by the trainload, because he is blind to the simple fact that evil does exist, and a person doesn't need to be poor, ignorant, or diseased to be evil.
I suspect if one of these ISIL thugs was holding his ponytail up in the air while holding a dull, rusty knife to Hasting's throat, he might well think his best defense is what would come naturally to liberals like him, to declare he is on their side, which he is. And they might view him, accurately, as a useful idiot. But they would always see him as a westerner and an infidel first.
This thread required a MEGA BARF alert.
Yes, this freedom thing is such an outdated idea.
And this psycho is an advocate for democide, but will never admit to it.
All gun control freaks know this (and want it)
So by his argument, the first amendment should also be left up to the states?
Something about the looks of the guy that tells me he is not a truly peace person, more like an old fashioned agitator. With his take and give on what others should accept he is a Himmler waiting to come out.
Tom, it’s time to have that talk with your doctor about “Low T”...
Warning to Mr. Hastings and his ilk: Your attempts to repeal the 2nd amendment will likely result in my exercising the 2nd amendment. That is all.
I can always beat my rifle into a plowshare, but why? I already have a roto-tiller too.
Anyone that believes that removing a (type) of weapon from circulation will reduce violent crime simply needs a freshman class in logic. Then they need to read an article in the UK about how now the weapon of choice is kitchen knives and how the next move by the parliament is to ban points on kitchen knives-if we follow that logic trail in this example, soon the only recourse the UK government will have is to kill all the subjects so as to eliminate all the possibilities of them rendering violence against one another. Slippery slope indeed.
It is so much easier to simply allow subjects ( we are talking the UK ya know) to arm with the firearm of choice and protect themselves, as the former choice eliminates the tax base to feed the MPs and the Royals....the pones who currently have arms to protect themselves....
Here in the US, we already figured that out....
Scared white guys spur Black Friday gun sales to record high
http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/12/03/black-friday-gun-sales/
What ignoramuses like Mr(Ms? Mrs.?) Hastings don’t understand is banning (put weapon here) has never prevented a determined criminal from harming his intended victim.
Ban all firearms and evil people will pick up knives. Ban those then they will arm themselves with clubs.
As “progressive” governments ban each weapon of choice of the criminal and it will continue until the simple possession or “open carry” of large rocks will get a otherwise lawful citizen a jail sentence.
And those intent on harming another will not be deterred in the least. Good, law abiding men and women will be left defenseless.
Making them the perfect victims for wicked men and governments with wicked intentions.
Cue Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etcetera, etc...
Our Founding Fathers knew this. This is the reason for the Second Amendment, Mr. Hastings.
“He is a nonviolent peace, justice and environmental activist, a Plowshares nonviolent veteran of three prisons and has done nonviolence trainings for more than 30 years across the US. He is a past chair and current board member of the Peace and Justice Studies Association, and on the Board of Directors of the Oregon Peace Institute. He is on the Governing Council of the International Peace Research Association and on the Board of Directors of the International Peace Research Association Foundation. He is on the Academic Advisory Council of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.”
In other words, he has produced nothing of value for a living.
Repealing the 2nd would not disable my right, which of course predates any statute. Molon labe baby boy.
I’d go halfway on this. I propose anyone with a liberal political ideology be banned from owning anything more lethal than a rubber band. As liberals are afflicted with a severe mental and emotional disorder, this would be a proper, common-sense approach. For the children, you know.
2ndDivisionVet
Evert day!
women will be outraged...this would mean they’d need to once again resort to the back-alley armament outlet. cue hillary.
Looks like Gruber kin.
God Created Men; Sam Colt Made Them Equal.
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