WHY, Dammit … WHY???

Posted on by under guns, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary

Yesterday’s mass shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, was the 146th in the United States so far this year … only the 100th day of the year 2023.  146 shootings in 100 days.  Way to go, Americans!  Yesterday in Louisville, 5 people, not including the gunman, lost their lives and 8 others were injured including two police officers, one suffering critical injuries after being shot in the head.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear lost two close friends in the shooting.  The weapon used was, once again, an AR-15 … the sort of weapon that can kill hundreds within minutes and that was designed for use by the military, not be civilians.

After the Nashville school shooting last month, I wrote to my Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, Warren Davidson, asking him to please propose a bill to ban assault-style weapons, at the very least.  This, in part, was his response to me nearly three weeks later …

“Our nation mourns as we reflect on this horrible act of evil. Targeted attacks such as these take a horrendous toll on our society. My thoughts and prayers are with the Nashville community, particularly the students and families of Nashville Covenant School, as they mourn during this difficult time.

Congress must carefully consider the root causes of mass shootings and recognize the motivations behind horrendous acts. These evil acts reflect a society stricken by mental health challenges. Addressing this issue requires Congress to take a multi-faceted approach, including aiding local law enforcement and strengthening mental health resources. In the wake of these tragedies, there are often calls for federal restrictions on our Second Amendment rights. Most of these proposed gun-control measures would restrict or compromise the constitutionally guaranteed right to own and carry firearms. I will not support any bill that infringes or restricts an individual’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”

First, Warren, keep your goddamn ‘thoughts and prayers’ … they are just about as useless as sending a bottle of aspirin to a grieving parent and telling them to “take two every four hours to lessen the pain of losing your child.”  Keep your thoughts and prayers – they are completely useless and nobody wants them.

Second, Warren, yes, we need to work on mental health in this country and do a far better job of providing care to those in need.  HOWEVER … if those suffering from mental health issues did not have access to guns, especially killing machines that were developed ONLY for military use, then they could not kill multiple children in a school, or movie-goers in a theater!  It’s the GUNS, Warren!!!  The GUNS!

Third, and you may find this offensive, but I don’t care … FUCK the 2nd Amendment and the “right to own and carry firearms.”  If the price we pay for maintaining an outdated “right” is the lives of our children, then it’s past time that the 2nd Amendment be either rewritten or abolished altogether.  My preference is the latter.  My right to send my children to school and expect they will return on the bus rather than in a body bag is more important than somebody else’s ‘right’ to own a gun.  My right to go into my local grocery store and expect to return home without bullet holes riddling my body is also more important than somebody’s ‘right’ to own a damned gun!

I did a bit of digging tonight and an interesting statistic crossed my radar.  Y’know how the gun nuts always claim they need a gun for self-protection?  Well, while the number of gun deaths in the U.S. has risen by 33.4% since 2016, the number of shootings labeled “self-defense” dropped by 40.9% during the same period.

So, doesn’t that rather negate the argument that people are exerting their ‘right’ to own a gun based on the notion of self-defense?  Oh, and why isn’t a pistol just as good for defending oneself against a home invasion as an AR-15 that can literally plow down hundreds in a matter of minutes and shred anything it touches?  So, cut the crap!

I will be responding to Mr. Davidson’s letter later today, and I will also be campaigning next year for his opponent, whomever it may be!  He obviously has zero conscience, zero compassion, zero humanity, and is NOT whom I choose to have my hard-earned tax dollars support!  Meanwhile, about 100 miles south of where I live, four families and their friends are sobbing tonight because their loved ones were brutally murdered this morning.  Tomorrow, there will be more killed by guns and even more families will be tearing their hair out, cursing the ground they walk on, and wondering … WHY???? 

59 thoughts on “WHY, Dammit … WHY???”

      • Yeah. 😦 The intent of the writers of the constitution could not possibly have been /this/. Wasn’t the whole thing about protecting the country from invaders or something?

        Liked by 1 person

        • Yes, their intent as stated in the 2nd Amendment itself was “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” And that is the entirety of the 2nd Amendment. Nothing about self-defense or defending ‘hearth and home’, nothing about ‘gun rights’. And back in their day, “arms” referred to muskets, not AR-15s that can plow down a crowd in under a minute!

          Liked by 1 person

            • No, I don’t think most of them have read the Constitution, nor care about the verbiage. Over the years (centuries), the Supreme Court has ‘interpreted’ the 2nd Amendment in a very broad sense. Even refusing to allow a proven domestic abuser the right to own a gun is controversial and in some states, there are literally NO restrictions, no licensing requirements, nada. The framers of the Constitution knew that times would change, but never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined the sort of weaponry that would be developed over the next 2-3 centuries, else I have no doubt they would have been much more careful in their wording. Recently, one state even made it legal for 16-year-old kids to carry a concealed gun. How much sense does any of this make???

              Liked by 1 person

  2. You’re obviously unaware that a semi-automatic pistol and a semi-automatic rifle have exactly the same rate of fire.

    Also, long guns are, inter alia, more accurate than handguns. One reason why, to answer your question, a handgun isn’t as good as a rifle for self-defense.

    Liked by 1 person

    • No, I obviously do know that they have the same rate of fire, but not necessarily the same distance or capacity. Frankly, I am a supporter of banning ALL semi-automatic weapons. Their only purpose is to kill people. Funny, isn’t it, that the very people who call themselves “pro-life” when discussing women’s rights, refuse to ban a killing machine that has taken more lives than all the wars this nation has been involved in?

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      • If you knew that, then why are you under the mistaken impression that an AR-15 has the unique ability to “literally plow down hundreds in a matter of minutes “?

        Any long gun will be effective at a greater distance than any handgun — that is not specific to the AR-15. Capacity is dependent on the magazine, and handguns can accept magazines of 30 rounds. A shotgun, which can be topped off, will wreak more damage in the same time as an AR firing the relatively light .223. Bet you didn’t know that, either.

        And yes, the ultimate purpose of any firearm is to inflict grievous harm on the intended target. Some intended targets need to have grievous harm inflicted upon them.

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  4. One of my observations as a foreigner is that if so many people in America own and carry a gun, why do so few ‘ordinary’ people ever intervene in mass shootings? It always seems to be only police officers who tackle the supposedly mentally-ill shooters.
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. As I was saying yestetrday and earlier today, the Democrats MUST RESPOND. I don’t care how they respond, but they must do something! American citizens are depending on them!
    So, if not the Democrats, then who? Their only choice will be to take matters into their own hands, and who knows how they will choose to respond!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. So many mass shootings i literally can’t keep up, stop the insanity.
    I also agree with ur talking points except repealing the 2nd amendment.
    We need some protection against a tyrannical gov’t., so yes automatic
    weapons are a necessary evil. That said, semi-automatics should not be sold to
    children under 18. Those guns being sold should be better regulated, like a driver’s
    license, ppl owning guns should be certified by registered professionals
    every few years. They should be mentally fit to own firearms and should be
    routinely analysed by a mental health professional.
    That should resolve many of the unnecessary mass shooting happening
    these days. I believe a balance perspective is necessary.

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  9. Does Warren Davidson HONESTLY believe the 18th century framers of the 2nd amendment envisioned (and would include) modern military-style assault weapons when they wrote that amendment? Whether he does or not, you can bet he’s going to stick to his same old stock responses to requests like yours.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I doubt it, but … he’s a Republican and they toe the party line, no matter what, no matter whose lives are affected, no matter if it destroys the country. Yep, I have no doubt he won’t change his tune one bit, and I’ve been on his case enough that he knows I’m not one of his supporters/voters anyway, so I don’t really matter.

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  11. The second amendmmenbt allows for arms for a local militia. Where are the uniforms of all these militia mnembers so theyt can be identified?Any politician that can be shown yo have accepted funsing from the NRA or any arms manufacturer should have their votes disregarded on any gun legislation as they are biased.

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    • Exactly. The ‘guns’ of the era when the 2nd Amendment was written were muskets! The drafters of the amendment could not have, in their wildest dreams, imagined what sort of guns would exist 250 years later, for if they had, they would NEVER have written the 2nd Amendment, or at the very least there would have been certain limitations. But now … there are so many weapons of every sort hidden in garages, basements, and dresser drawers that … if laws were passed tomorrow to completely ban assault weapons, I suspect it would be 20 years before we could find them all. Sigh. (Good to see you back again!)
      Cwtch

      Liked by 1 person

  12. I agree, if this right to carry guns “needs” to be kept, why assault rifles, that makes no sense. Interesting is in this context the statistics you found with self defense. These politicians are all cringing in front of the weapon producers.

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    • Oh yes, the politicians are deep in the pockets of the weapons industry, and they’ve convinced the people that it is their “god-given right” to own as many of whatever type of gun they want.

      Liked by 1 person

      • As you so correctly mention: it is everybody’s god-given right to not be killed by those weapons, unless oneself tries to kill someone. I wonder how many of these school kids tried that … and for self defense one should not need an assault rifle, the name says it all.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Exactly so! I read in one questionnaire that several of the respondents said they owned an AR-15 for hunting, but you cannot use one for hunting, for it literally shreds the body of the animal. Just another excuse. The gun, like every other gun, was made for one purpose only: to kill humans.

          Liked by 1 person

  14. There is unequivocally NO EFFIN REASON or JUSTIFICATION any GOD DAYUM American OR nutcase Pro-Gunner/Pro-Violence Lover-of-Death Republican could EVER in a MILLION YEARS… justify this unfettered military-style assault-weapon epidemic we are now, in a cancerous way, deep deep DEEP into, ESPECIALLY on children, in churches, or in GOD DAYUM BANKS even!!! NEVER!!! PERIOD!!! This shit has NOTHING to do with the god dayum 18th-century Second Amendment!!! EFF THAT SHIT to the HILT!!! 😡 🤬

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  15. Pingback: WHY, Dammit … WHY??? | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  16. Jill, our country has a significantly higher gun death rate than the any of the top 22 wealthiest countries. In fact our rate is higher than the sum of the other rates of gun deaths of the top 22 combined. For anyone to say it is not a gun problem, they are either naive or well-paid. Of course, there are other reasons, but guns are certainly the key one.

    And, for those who say it is a mental health reason, that is a factor but the question is why are those same folks against the ACA and expanded Medicaid which includes mental health benefits.

    Our country has a problem that too many people don’t want to address. That is insanity. Politicians who are naysaying needed change need to step down and let the parents and grandparents come to some agreement. Keith

    Liked by 4 people

    • PS – That should say greater than the sum of the rate of child gun deaths of the other 22 wealthiest countries combined. We are not quite as large as the sum of the rate of all gun deaths of the other 22 countries, but close.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Exactly. I hear from readers all over the world who are stunned at our lack of gun laws and our “olde west mentality” regarding guns. Sure, the mental health factor plays a role in some cases, especially suicides and mass shootings, but … IF those people did not have easy access to guns, they wouldn’t be killing people. Full stop. It is the guns that are getting people killed.

      You make an excellent point here … if the legislators are so concerned about mental health, why are they cutting Medicare/Medicaid services instead of expanding them to include mental illness?

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