Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon. The author of one of the worst songs in the history of western music (as well as a number of very good ones) was walking home on a Monday evening in New York City with his wife in 1980 when Holden Caulfield wanna-be Mark David Chapman emptied a .38 revolver into him at close range.
Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, a noted musician herself, commemorated the anniversary of the murder yesterday by calling for — you guessed it — more gun control laws. It’s apparently escaped her over the last four decades that her husband was shot to death while walking in the city with the strictest gun control laws in the nation.
The death of a loved one is a hollowing experience.
After 40 years, Sean, Julian and I still miss him.
‘Imagine all the people living life in peace.’
Yoko Ono Lennon#enoughisenough #peace #guncontrolnow #gunviolence #nra #guns #gunsafety #firearms #endgunviolence pic.twitter.com/TsHWuCdu2Y— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) December 8, 2020
If Ono really wanted to do something about “gun violence” in America, we have a few suggestions that would actually make a difference. First, she could campaign against the policies of people like New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and their efforts to defund police departments. She could lobby demagogues like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who helped make zero bail criminal release laws a reality and let suspects continue to prey on the innocent.
It’s wrong-headed, reflexively anti-gun politicians such as these who make it harder and more expensive for law-abiding citizens to avail themselves of their Second Amendment rights, letting them protect themselves and their families.
But someone with Yoko Ono’s considerable means could do much more than just lobby. We’d like to see her financially support the good work of organizations that support Americans’ civil rights. Organizations like the Firearms Policy Coalition, Gun Owners of America, and the Second Amendment Foundation.
These operations are busy filing lawsuits around the country and forcing cities, counties and states to respect citizens’ gun rights…something that makes it easier for people to defend themselves and their families at a time when governments are cutting back on law enforcement, opening their jails and refusing to prosecute many crimes.
We’d guess that Ono is also blissfully unaware of the number of crimes that are actually prevented with the use of firearms every year…serious crimes like assaults, robberies, rapes and murders. These defensive actions dwarf the number of people who are killed by guns each year. And most of these defensive gun uses happen without anyone pulling a trigger. Surely that’s a cause a peace-loving individual like Yoko can get behind.
So let’s hope the octogenarian Ono sees the light and supports such a good cause in her dotage…a cause like gun rights and equal access to armed self defense for the average person. We’d even buy a ticket to one of her performances if it benefits the cause of the right to keep and bear arms.
