I spent part of my weekend
appreciating art in Philadelphia. We had
breakfast about 15 miles from Center City and I was stunned and sickened to
discover a most unfortunate child’s vending machine just inside the door of the
restaurant. Nestled beneath the rubber
bouncing balls and to the left of the plastic aliens, small children can insert
coins and purchase miniature assault weapons and grenades. Undeniable and
palpable glorification of violence conveniently packaged in a plastic bubble.
Something is seriously wrong with
this picture.
I will admit that my nonviolent
nature is sorely challenged when I think of the adults who have decided it is
okay to sell these trinkets to our children.
I’ve been accused of over-sensitivity when it comes to violence. My son was
robbed at gunpoint when he was attending college in Philadelphia. Thankfully he
was not physically harmed but I am acutely aware that criminals holding guns are
not always this benign as they purge victims of cash and belongings.
I cannot watch most action movies
without feeling discomfort in my gut. I
become physically ill and emotionally unsettled when I hear or see people arguing
or fighting. Neither can I abide
violence against animals. I have had to stop reading books I was otherwise
enjoying when I read about cruelty in almost any form.
So you might automatically put me
in the camp of those who are too naïve to understand what is at stake. Feel
free to roll your eyes, but thanks for reading and try to hear me anyway.
While still reeling from the Sandy
Hook massacre we’ve daily added insult to injury. Just today, a ninth grader shot himself in a
school restroom just outside of Tulsa.
Yesterday, a Navy Seal (regarded as one of the military’s most lethal
snipers-don’t even get me started) was
shot to death by an unbalanced ex-Marine. They were at a shooting range (of all
places.)
One story (from thousands): Six
years ago a woman named Movita Johnson-Harrell told her husband that her sons
“would not become statistics on the streets of Philadelphia.” She and her
husband packed up and moved their family to Lansdowne in order to get away from
the gun culture for which our fair city Philadelphia is so well known. Despite
her efforts, four years later she was burying her 18 year old son who was a
victim of mistaken identity. As he sat
waiting for his sister in a car in East Germantown, he was shot to death.
Maybe I’m hypersensitive, but
bullets are flying and this vehemently-guarded constitutional right seems a bit
out of control. 18 American families each day are choosing coffins for their
children because of guns. There were
over 9,000 gun-related homicides in 2011 alone.
I’m thankful for freedom and I
don’t want to step on anyone’s toes (or
constitutional rights) but I doubt our forefathers expected us to be
ducking for cover in places like elementary classrooms and/or the front seats
of our cars. I suspect muskets and
bayonets were a little easier to control. I want to be clear. I am NOT saying it should be illegal to own a
gun. But I do believe we need stronger
regulations if we are to fairly balance someone’s right to bear arms with
someone else’s right to stay alive walking down the street.
Here’s where (at the risk of making people angry) I show my hand in this deadly game
of cards. I wish the crazy-town voices
in the NRA would be quiet so the moderate voices of the NRA could be heard. Because many of the loudest opinions speaking
on behalf of the NRA sound just like playground bullies. They brandish a frightening quality that pushes
and taunts and feels a lot like power. They are well-backed financially and seem
frankly untouchable. But listen carefully to the way they speak. Their words are guarded, actually coming off sounding
a little paranoid. Some seem ready to
protect themselves (and their beloved collections) at the expense of anyone who
might get in the way. Those “in the way” seem even to include the voices
speaking for the health and safety of our nation’s children. Given the
opportunity to communicate responsibly about the debacle that was the second
deadliest school shooting in history, these inflexible voices suggest that each
school board hire themselves a posse of armed guards. Really? Now there’s
a vision for our educational dollars at work. It is more than a little
terrifying.
Apparently there’s been some recent
polling in our state. It seems that most
people now believe there should be a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity
magazines. I think this is an obvious
and essential step, but sadly this is not going to solve the overarching problem
since most of the people dying from gunfire are being murdered with “lesser”
specimens. The number one cause of death
for African-American men and boys is NOT auto accidents, NOT childhood diseases
(thank you vaccines), NOT diabetes,
NOT drug abuse. The number one cause is
gun violence. Tiny bullets. Little
shells of destruction fired via the simple flick of a finger. And unfortunately
it takes precious little intelligence to pull a trigger.
I will say, it does give me hope
that 58% of gun-holding households back a nationwide ban of high-capacity
magazines. I know there are many responsible
gun-owners and I appreciate their voices of reason in this debate.
While I’m asking impossible
questions, I’ve got one more. Why are 40% of gun sales in our country
accomplished through unlicensed dealers?
I hope I’m wrong but it is my understanding that someone can just show
up at a gun show and make a purchase without a federal background check. If these numbers are real, then what are we,
CRAZY?! To give perspective, there were
700,000 DENIALS in the last decade when the federal background check was done
the right way. (Making these background checks mandatory seems like a no-brainer, does
it not?)
Obviously I have more questions
than answers. But even to a peace-loving, let’s all just get along, rainbows,
puppies and ice cream sort of personality like mine; some things just seem like
common sense.
And I’d sure like to believe we can
find it in our hearts to agree that bubble gum machines are a good place to
start.
