It's obscene. Horrifying.

Today, I read Helen Ubinas' screed on how repulsively easy it was for an American citizen to purchase a firearm:

I bought an AR-15 semi-automatic Rifle in 7 minutes

That's how long it took me to buy an AR-15, the type of semiautomatic rifle used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
Seven minutes.  From the moment I handed the salesperson my driver's license to the moment I passed my background check.
It's likely it will take more time than that during the forthcoming round of vigils to respectfully read the names of the more than 100 people who were killed or injured.
It's obscene.
Horrifying.

I wondered what one could say to her, to help her understand the people who own guns.

Then I read her follow-up article which described the reactions of her readers:

WHILE THE rest of us are mourning the horrific loss of life in Orlando, and trying to come up with actual solutions that might make our nation safer, gun fans are dancing in the streets over the fact that the high-capacity, semiautomatic, military-style rifle wielded by Omar Mateen was not built on the AR-15 platform.

"Hey stupid. You got the wrong gun. It wasn't an AR-15. Get your facts straight you lib-hole," read one email in response to my column describing the seven minutes it took me to acquire an AR-15 rifle.

If I were a hard-core "gun enthusiast" - I don't mean those who occasionally hunt or target-shoot, but someone who truly worships these deadly weapons - it might matter to me that Mateen's rifle used gas-piston technology rather than the direct impingement process traditionally used with AR-style rifles.

... and I realized that there was nothing to be said which would ameliorate her hatred of the "Evil Gun".   Or the "Obscene, horrifying" Second Amendment.

Well. She doesn't support my Second Amendment Right to " ... keep and bear arms ...", but I understand her First Amendment Right to express her opinion.

 She gets her information from the Huffington Post, and she has been radically converted.

IN HER ARTICLE, Ubinas makes a couple of salient points:

FIRST:

If it wasn't so easy to get a gun in this country, the 29-year-old gunman who went on a shooting rampage in a popular gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday wouldn't have been able to buy the weapon he used to kill 49 people and injure 53.

Well, the shooter WAS a licensed Security Guard, and had passed every test which the Liberal Left wishes to impose on firearms owners.   If the Liberals has been able to define even more restrictive limits on the vetting of Armed security Guards, I'm sure they would have told us.

SECOND:

If it wasn't so easy to get a gun in this country, another gunman who came before him wouldn't have been able to use the same kind of firearm to kill elementary-school children in Newtown, Conn.

The-person-who-shall-not-be-named murdered his mother to gain access to her gun safe (in which all of her firearms were safely stored.  Does the author consider fire-proof safes to be less than adequate receptacles for the safe storage of firearms?)

Back to the story: The author attempts to find a REASON for this creature to kill so many people:
Homophobia?  Not proven, and perhaps just the opposite (shame) was a part of the justification.
Radicalism? Proven, in his call before the murders, to declare his allegiance to Islamic Jehad.
Mental Illness?  Geez, anyone who willingly shoots 100 people is some kind of a nut.

JUST ANOTHER DAY AT THE GUN SHOW?

And yes, guns. Insane, nonsensical access to guns. So pick whatever reason or narrative matches your politics or agenda. Have at it, because the truth is that while they all play a part, what's really destroying this country is fear and hate. A festering fear and hate that we better think about when it's time to vote for our next president, because the fear and hate is not all coming from the outside. It's not all from some unnamed foreign bogeyman. Increasingly it's from within, from down the street, the next state over, the next potential leader of this country.

Ms Ubinas has stepped through her logic and proven (with delicate finesse and fine attention to detail) that the Orlando shooter was an aberrant exemplar of firearms owners.

However, she is absolutely correct when she says: "...what's really destroying this country is fear and hate."



Remember the old cliche' about rectums?

 "Everybody has one, but some people are ruled by theirs".

Fear of guns is a gut-clinching phenomenon which cannot be resolved by logic or well-chosen words.

I realized this when I tried to get into the issue and resolve Ms. Ubinas' fears by words.
It can't be done, so I am not going to try to assuage her fears.    Feces occur; deal with it.

Gun owners have fears, too.

Why Are Gun Owners Afraid of Liberals?

     BECAUSE Liberals have absolutely no sense of proportion.

For example, in Philadelphia, they're taxing "soda pop" to fund .. wait, let me look it up:

Looking to raise millions for a bold expansion of early childhood education, Philadelphia City Council on Thursday approved a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened and diet beverages, the first such tax imposed in a major U.S. city.

Soda Tax: Will Your Favorite Beverage Cost More?

he 13-4 vote put to bed months of speculation and at-times-bitter negotiations, but also ensured that the national spotlight will stay turned on Philadelphia for months, if not years. (and that's A Good Thing?)

Critics quickly vowed a court challenge. And as the city introduces the unprecedented levy - and its economic and public-health effects come into view - experts, advocates, and legislators will surely be watching closely.

Well, nobody can fault Philadelphia for wanting to  remain in the 'national spotlight" for years!

(I liked it better when Philly was known as the home of RAMBO .. but that's just me.)



(Yeah ... Jingoism. I'm loving it.)