I've never been into guns. Never. I've never held one and never wanted to, and I don't plan on amending my gun virgin status anytime soon. I think it's safe to say that I am, and most likely always will be, fairly anti-gun. I hate guns.
That being said, I mostly don't give a shit what other people do, as long as you're not harming me or mine. So I don't really care if you own a handgun or a rifle, because those make sense to me. Owning a handgun or a rifle makes sense to me because that's what people protect themselves with (handguns) and that's what people hunt with (rifles).
I don't recall ever really thinking about guns until Columbine. And then Charlton Heston said that stupid "they'll have to pry them from my cold, dead hands" bullshit, and then, then I started paying attention to the NRA.
The National Rifle Association was started in 1871 by and for Civil War veterans who were, apparently, really crappy shots. That should tell you something right there. When I think of the NRA today, I don't think of marksmanship at all. The NRA has been completely perverted from its original intent, as can seemingly only happen in the United States of America.
These guys are total assholes.
Let's pretend for just a moment that the 2012 NRA exists simply as an outfit for securing gun ownership and honoring the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Let's just pretend here. For a minute. Alright, maybe 30 seconds. Consider 10. (I know it's hard. Get in your imagination zone. Pretend you're Halle Berry or Christian Bale or some shit.)
Now read this (from the above Wiki NRA link):
Instructors not only teach firearms usage, care, and cleaning, but can coach students and other persons and help them develop Marksmanship skills. In order to help encourage firearms practice, the NRA has a Marksmanship Qualification Program. This program is divided into several disciplines and each discipline has multiple awards that can be obtained. The awards are offered for successfully completing each in a series progressively more difficult courses of fire. All of these awards, except Distinguished Expert, are on the honor system. An NRA certified coach or certified instructor must witness the participant successfully complete the course of for this more prestigious of awards. The awards are provided in the form of "rockers" which are typically sewn on below a large round discipline-specific patch. The various awards are as follows:
* Basic Practical
* Pro-Marksman
* Marksman
* Marksman First Class
* Sharpshooter; Bars 1–9
* Expert
* Distinguished Expert
OK. Again, let's just pretend that we're talking about
deer here. Poor, sad little Bambi, and Bambi's mom. And Thumper. And all of Snow White's creatures, Disney movies galore, with all the disgustingly cute animals who, unfortunately, taste like chicken to carnivores, and people hunt to put food on the table, and blah blah blah.
Do you really believe that?
Yeah, me neither because SOME MOTHERFUCKING ASSHOLE SHOT UP 70, 70!, PEOPLE IN A MOVIE THEATER NOT TWO MILES FROM MY GODDAMNED HOUSE!
The NRA is all about hunting these days, sure, but not forest creatures anymore. The NRA is about hunting people. The NRA is about fear of The Other. The NRA is comprised of a bunch of white bullies who are totally pissed that the world is changing, and they can't do a fucking thing to stop it. They want 2012 to resemble 1955, because now? The progress has been too much, see. All the gays and the blacks and the science and the cell phones and Ellen and that stupid rap music and OMG WOMEN ARE WEARING PANTS NOW! PANTS!
The NRA prevents progress on an epic scale, and they have the money to do it. From an article written by Russell Simmons:
The NRA has been successful at blocking attempts to pass reasonable legislation that would require background checks at gun-shows (currently there are none), as well as blocking people on the terror watch list and those who are mentally unstable from obtaining guns and putting an end to the sale of accessories like 100 round drums. They are also the group behind the "Stand Your Ground" law that George Zimmerman claims protects him from being convicted of killing Trayvon Martin. Our nation has been held hostage by 4 million people and $300 million dollars. The safety of our schools, our streets, our homes, our movie theaters, is being controlled by those who cling to their guns, their assault weapons and their weapons of war.
I have been really quiet about the theater shooting in Colorado, because it is actually in my neighborhood. I've been to that theater before, several times. Little Shiz and I saw
The Hunger Games there. I eat near there pretty much every weekend. I just went to the Aurora Mall 2 weeks ago. That area is where I hang out with my friends, chill from the world, and vent. It's my stomping ground. It's where I live and where I hang my heart.
So to see my roommate, a nurse, come home after a night of treating trauma victims with multiple gunshot wounds, and to hear her stories, and to see her cry, just break down and weep in front of me like that ...
Well.
Something's gotta be done here, people. This is awful. No one deserves this, you guys, and our country is better than this. We need stricter guns laws, goddamnit! This has got to change!
The following is written by my friend, Matthew Quirk, who posted this on his Facebook wall a few days ago:
I think it's all up to the NRA now. They block every initiative to restrict extremely deadly weapons to individuals that should not have them. Fine. Please explain to us why mass murder is patriotic, or figure out your own way to reduce these tragedies. I'm really tired of burying people who shouldn't have been killed. I'm really tired of mentally disturbed individuals having power far beyond their capacity to control. I'm really tired of having to fight an uphill battle to prevent children from getting shot to death in places they should feel safe. So figure it out NRA. You own it now. Do something. We're kind of in a hurry, too. So get moving.
Word. Until then, the NRA can fucking suck it.