tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350537184133713788.post5348691587335850356..comments2023-01-28T08:32:40.193-08:00Comments on The Martinshushu Blog: Gunshot Murder and Religion in AmericaMartinshushuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05665054968539745600noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350537184133713788.post-78248442466146461182015-11-29T17:58:28.505-08:002015-11-29T17:58:28.505-08:00Bravo! As they have done with abortion, the right ...Bravo! As they have done with abortion, the right has spent millions of dollars and unlimited resources to confuse this issue. Any mention of gun control & they suddenly embrace the constitution and invoke the 2nd amendment; whereas with almost every other issue they have what amounts to disdain for the same constitution. It serves the NRA's purpose to portray all concerns about guns as one thing, to polarize and turn any reasonable discourse into a matter of 'us against them'. But the truth is that, in the real world, it's both more complicated and less polarized than that, in my experience at least.<br /><br /> For example, I have a friend who is a gun owner and conservative (but not a fanatic) who totally supports the right of individuals to own guns, but he also supports gun control. In fact in talking with him I surprisingly found he thinks the laws should be more strict! In his view (and in his words) "the nut-cases who yell against all laws to regulate guns are actually screwing things up for gun owners; people think they represent the majority... they do not!" He is super-strict about training and says his mantra about guns is "safety, safety, safety... first and last". He is even for more stringent background checks, saying that if someone cannot be open about themselves and their intent then they certainly should not be able to own a gun; which is the view of most gun-control advocates, including myself.<br /><br />I know every gun owner doesn't think this way but I suspect that many more do than the NRA would like to admit, because it doesn't serve their political purpose. As with religion and abortion, for the right, gun laws and the on-going debate has become an effective tool to further polarize an already divided nation, while in the process the objects of their grand schemes are killing each other, with freedom and justice for none.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13235253984171980610noreply@blogger.com