Twenty dead children, reasonable regulations, politicians subverting the will of the people, NRA, yada yada yada. And in closing, “But as hunting has become less popular and as the number of households owning guns has declined the ranks of gun owners have become over-represented by conspiracy theorists and assorted crazies and kooks,” Cynthia Tucker writes. Google is not Ms. Tucker’s friend; hunting is as popular as it ever was. And there are plenty of folks who think American gun ownership is on an uptick (including a whole bunch of gun makers, dealers and buyers). Again. Still. Which kinda undermines Tucker’s whole argument—if that’s what you want to call it. Quick aside . . .
Tucker won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for her “courageous, clear-headed columns that evince a strong sense of morality and persuasive knowledge of the community.” This one got picked-up by yahoonews.com. OK, go . . .
They can be easily persuaded that the government is on a mission to confiscate their firearms. There is little doubt that paranoia is amplified by the presence of a black president, who represents the deepest fears of right-wing survivalist types. So it was probably naive to expect that he could drum up support for more reasonable gun safety measures.
But if 20 dead children can’t persuade Congress to tighten gun laws, what will?
Hopefully nothing. And may I respectfully point out that it takes a racist kook to know one? Just sayin’ . . .