Tag: gun control

Ahhhhh Texas

On By WinstonIn Society, Uncategorized, ValuesLeave a comment

There’s a story on Gawker about a man in San Antonio Texas who accidentally shot his girlfriend…. In the chest… With a shotgun. (She is apparently in stable condition now). So far, so tragic.

Given that it was an accident and involved a shotgun you might be thinking hunting accident. Sadly, that was not the case. It apparently went down more like this.

The guys’ ex-girlfriend showed up and there was a verbal altercation. The boyfriend decided that the best way to resolve the situation with the ex involved getting his shotgun. Isn’t that your goto position in a “verbal altercation”?

His girlfriend tried to stop him from shooting his ex. Mr. Wonderful then accidentally shot his current girlfriend… in the chest… with a shotgun. No word on the ex, but I’m guessing she signed up for that private Mars mission that’s been recruiting. Even that may not be far enough away from this guy.

You might wonder why I mention Texas in the title. Surely this could’ve happened anywhere. That is the unfortunate truth, but this story has a twist. It seems the police were initially unsure if charges would be pressed. Now let’s make sure we understand that. He shot his girlfriend while she was trying to keep him from shooting his ex-girlfriend over an argument, but the San Antonio P.D. doesn’t really see anything wrong with all that. S.A.P.D. eventually decided to charge him with “possible aggravated assault”.

I agree with them on a couple of points. He definitely assaulted his girlfriend (with a shotgun!), and it’s pretty safe to say he was aggravated. I’m just not sure why they put the word possible in there. Are they saying “Maybe he wasn’t aggravated.”? I tend to think it’s because it’s Texas. Maybe they just don’t think that blasting your girlfriend with a shotgun should count as assault.

Ahhhhh Texas.

Cheers, Winston

Viva La Gun!

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, Politics, Pop Culture, Rants, Society, Uncategorized, ValuesLeave a comment

Dear Crazy NRA Spokesperson. Rather than placing armed guards in every school in the country, I’ve come up with an even better plan. At first glance, it might seem “a little out there”, but once you think it over in sure you’ll like it.

Why don’t we just arm the students. Paying police, or hiring and training armed security for all those schools would be cost prohibitive. Let’s cut out the middleman and put the guns where they belong.

There’s no reason these kids shouldn’t be learning how to defend themselves. Judging by some of the youth-oriented shooting competitions, it’s never too early to start training them.

I realize that some bleeding-heart liberal types are going to whine and complain… let ’em. It’s their ultra-violent video games and movies that have laid the foundation for this.

Violent media have already turned them into killers in waiting, why let all that potential go to waste? I mean really small caliber handguns are tailor made for young hands. Let the junior killers sort out the senior ones.

We save a ton of money on security. We get more guns into schools, and we make a boatload of cash for gun manufacturers and retailers. Seems like a sweet deal to me.

So Wayne… Let me know what you think. I figure this plan may just be psychotically delusional enough to appeal to you. It may be a tad whimsical and cheery for you, but we can work out the details.

Viva La Gun!

Cheers, Winston

Shut Up And Fix It

On By WinstonIn Media, Movies, Personal Responsibility, Politics, Pop Culture, Society, Uncategorized, Values, Video GamesLeave a comment

It took a week, but the NRA (National Rifle Association) has finally decided how to respond to the Newtown, Connecticut shooting. According to them, it had nothing to do with the shooters ease of access to high capacity semi-automatic weapons. Of course not. It was his exposure to violent video games and movies.

We know this is true because it’s the argument that gets trotted out every time people don’t want to look at a real problem. It is always pop-cultures fault. When I was younger, it was role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons which were “to blame”. Clint Eastwood movies were a horrible influence and sure to have us shooting each other with wild abandon.

Unfortunately for the NRA and those like them, (but fortunately for the rest of us) that’s not how it works. It’s not a simple case of “Money See, Monkey Do”. Anyone without a severe mental health issue is more than capable of separating what they see on the screen from the world around them. If they can’t, it’s a failure of their parents and society as a whole, not just the media.

I’m going to keep this one short today, so I’ll cut to the chase. If that young man’s mother hadn’t taken him to the range and kept multiple, easily accessible firearms in her home, she and the other victims killed by her son would still be alive. The NRA and their supporters can scream their lungs out saying it isn’t so, but I have one irrefutable piece of evidence to the contrary…. Canada.

We play violent video games. We watch countless hours of violent movies and television. Year somehow, we have a relatively small number of mass shootings. Are we somehow magically immune to the corrupting influence of the vile media filth in which we are immersed? No, there’s a much simpler answer. When we get angry, we can’t simply open the sock drawer, pull out a couple of high capacity pistols and start blasting.

So to the NRA and everyone else who has jumped on the entertainment industry bashing band wagon, there’s your cold hard proof. It’s not violent media, it’s  guns that are problem. Now shut up and fix it.

Cheers, Winston