The Lethal Idealism Of Second Amendment Enthusiasts

Harvard: "Virtually no armed criminals report being wounded by a law-abiding citizen."

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/12/harvard-virtually-none-report-being.html

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"Gun Cartoons and Gun Violence Biography"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/07/gun-cartoons.html

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Alan: In the following NPR report, Texas Senator John Cornyn says current gun legislation is “a solution in search of a problem.” According to Cornyn, America's problem is not lack of legislation but poor enforcement of existing law. Like many of his fellows, Senator Cornyn is an ideological prostitute, selling seductive sound bites whose "ideal appeal" ignores the un-enforcability of existing law. The United States is home to 300,000,000 firearms; one for every man, woman and child. Clearly, gun control will not yield sudden solution. But it is also true that progress does not depend on perfect principles. In fact, the quest for perfection obstructs progress: "The best is enemy of the good."  http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/04/merton-best-imposed-as-norm-becomes.html  ///  http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/09/paul-ryan-tells-truth.html  Once The Paralysis of Perfection has been overcome, America can embark this long journey with a single, decisive step. What matters is direction - fixed determination to move in the direction of light. Consider: “All of Japan experienced only 11 firearm deaths in 2008, fewer than were killed at the Aurora shooting alone. And 2008 was a big year: 2006 saw an astounding two firearm deaths, and when that number jumped to 22 in 2007, it became a national scandal. By comparison 587 Americans were killed in 2008 just by guns that had discharged accidentally.” 
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japan-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/  In the United States, handguns have killed a million people since 1970. 
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-debacle-of-gun-control-richard-cohen.html As a nation, we have normalized firearm violence and now believe personal security can only be guaranteed by yet more weaponry. If it is true that an abundance of firearms makes us safe, why isn't the United States the safest place in the world? It will take decades -- perhaps a century or more -- to vanquish The National Lunacy. It is helpful to know that the process is incremental and it starts now.

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'Straw Purchases' Get Keen Eye In Gun Debate

April 13, 2013


Audio File: http://www.npr.org/2013/04/13/177120284/straw-purchases-get-keen-eye-in-gun-debate

Congress voted to begin debate on a package of new gun control measures this week, passing a key procedural hurdle. But several proposals face a long road before reaching President Obama's desk. One proposal has garnered bipartisan support: additional measures targeting so-called "straw purchasers" and gun trafficking. Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon reports on why advocates say the new measures are necessary, and how one gun, purchased through a surrogate, ended up in the wrong hands.

Democracy guarantees idiots a place at the table.

This is a bewildering necessity but inclusiveness is better than exclusion.

Make no mistake: “Civilization is in a race between education and catastrophe. Let us learn the truth and spread it as far and wide as our circumstances allow. For the truth is the greatest weapon we have.”       H.G. Wells