Back on December 9, montgomeryadvertiser.com columnist Josh Moon responded to a spate of local gun violence. “The one common thread tying them all together is guns . . . There is no question that guns are a problem. They do, in fact, kill people. This is where most would expect a diatribe on banning guns. However, while I wouldn’t mind at all living in a world in which only the cops had firearms, that’s a fantasy that will never come true. Guns aren’t going anywhere, so the most productive thing we can do is figure out a way in which we can all live with them.” Far be it for me to suggest that a pro-gun control media dude in the heart of Dixie should keep firearms off his editorial agenda. ‘Cause if he did, we’d be denied a primo example of what happens when cultures collide . . .
If you want a gun, there should be at least a week-long training course. Every night for a week, you’d have to spend an hour learning gun safety rules and the gun laws of this state. At the end of that training, a test would be administered by a government official — just like a driving test.
Because I’d like someone to verify that you know how to work the safety on a variety of weapons, that you know the proper way to carry a gun and that you know the proper technique for firing one. And most importantly, I want to know that you’re not crazy mad, or just plain crazy, and looking for a quick and permanent end to an argument or a relationship . . .
There’s no reason that I should be able to stroll into Walmart and buy a box of ammo with my bread and tires — without anyone ever writing down anything. For goodness sakes, I have to all but give a urine sample to buy a box of sinus medication behind the pharmacy counter. It should be required to at least to have a name and address entered into a computer to get bullets.
Because if someone convicted of a violent crime can’t own a gun, that person shouldn’t be buying bullets, either.
Look! It’s a lead balloon! Who’d want one of those? Not many people living in The Yellowhammer State. As you might imagine the comments section underneath the post took the writer to task for his suggestions. And how. Here’s one of dozens of residents who considered Mr. Moon a lunatic:
Moon is a liberal idiot. The one common thread tying vehicle accidents is vehicles. There must be a way to regulate liquid fuel. There is no reason someone should be able to buy their groceries at Wal-Mart and then gas up their car without the proper ID and license. Motor vehicles cause more deaths and injuries than firearms. They use vast amounts of hospital ER resorces that could be used to find a cure for the common cold. Or to give more medical care to poor illegals. Swim suits. Oh my God. They let a person to be exposed to too many UV rays. Do people have a RIGHT to be overexposed? 🙂
Like that. And those are the ones that weren’t deleted. Moon felt so much heat from the flamers he felt obliged to follow Churchill’s dictum “When you’re going through hell keep going.” Or George M. Cohan’s adage “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Or simply accepted his liberal BFF’s attaboys and decided to rub salt into the wound.
A new column! With carefully selected emails with which Moon can fight his rearguard action. When one antagonist points out that private training is preferable to government anything, Moon reveals his true stripes.
This is an area where I seem to differ from a lot of people these days. I simply don’t have a deeply rooted mistrust of our government. In fact, I think our government typically does a pretty decent job. Yes, it’s big and clunky and suffers from all the inherent problems that go along with that, but it’s most often very well intentioned. Many of the problems that do plague our government come from others taking advantage of it. So, with that said, I have to disagree. I think our government is in the best position to institute such a program, and I think you run into many more problems if you’re dealing with private companies — such as who’s going to monitor those companies and who’s going to set standards? The government?
So even when you shouldn’t involve the government you should. How much tax-lovin’ liberalism can you take? Wait! Don’t answer! There’s more!
It seems many of the people committing these crimes have very little respect for human life. That has to come from a lack of education and guidance. We can sugarcoat it all we like, or pretend as though it’s not our problem to solve, but we’re doing a pretty poor job in some areas making sure a lot of kids have a shot at a decent life. Certainly, the first criticism in this equation goes to the parents, because they stink. But we can’t continue to run from these kids, leaving them in underfunded schools and in unmonitored situations to fend for themselves. Because we see the results. At best, they’re unemployable. At worst, well, we’ve seen the worst.
So far so bleeding heart. And all very civilized with it. But Moon can’t resist getting nasty and taking a parting shot at his pro-gun rights antagonists. Addressing the issue of guns as protection against tyranny, Moon uses the Albright defense, and then kicks his readers in the teeth.
You’re not scaring away the big, bad government with your .38. If Uncle Sam wants to come in and take your stuff, there’s not much you can do about it. There are plenty of legitimate reasons for gun ownership, and again, I’m not advocating that they be banned. But I don’t think this amendment gives you the right to buy any kind of gun, to forego training programs or to refuse to show ID when purchasing ammo. And I also don’t think it absolves the people who have pushed to make gun buying easier of some responsibility for the mess we’re in.
Yeah, it’s their fault. Let the Moon-bashing begin. Saying that, commentator TimothyPeace reflects my own, less peevish take.
Both liberals and conservatives aspire to a utopian state.
The difference is…
Conservatives realize this can only be achieved through God’s grace and know that their greatest earthly existence will come through individual freedom and self determination.
Liberals, clouded by their arrogance, actually believe the 6 billion of us can make utopia on our own.