27 December 2012 Feed the fires of panic

Cassi Creek:  The NRA and its corporate backers are doing everything that they can to create a panic among gun owners. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/12/23/wayne-lapierre-gun-control-not-going-to-make-any-kid-safer/        

            “Gregory showed LaPierre a high-capacity clip with 30 bullets and asked whether it might help to outlaw such clips.

            “I don’t believe that’s going to make one difference,” LaPierre said. “There are so many different ways to evade that even if you had that. You had that for 10 years when Dianne Feinstein passed that ban in ’94. It was on the books; Columbine occurred right in the middle of it. It didn’t make any difference.”

            “LaPierre on Friday launched a program that seeks to install police officers and/or armed security at every school in the country, with the idea being that armed, trained security could prevent further carnage. He said he is not bothered by criticism.

“If it’s crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our school to protect our children, then call me crazy,” LaPierre said. “I think the American people think it’s crazy not to do it.”

            I talked with a neighbor Monday about the artificially created panic.  He told me about a friend of his who went gun buying Saturday and returned with two Glock handguns, a Kimber handgun, and an AR-15 rifle.  She spent what had to be in excess of $4000.00 before adding ammunition into the purchases.  She doesn’t hunt, she has fallen into the artificial “societal collapse” panic that gun manufacturers and survivalist whole-salers use to ramp up sales. 

            Nearly all such sales are being made by people who already own at least one other gun.  The models leading the in-demand list are the semi-automatic military style guns with high capacity magazines.  These are not hunting weapons, no family will go without meat for the winter if such weapons are restricted or prohibited from sale to the general public. 

            We own guns.  We find ourselves on the sharp edge of this question.  We see no need for the public to own assault style weapons and support full background checks and closing the gun show background loophole.  That makes us somewhat at odds with our neighbors, and indeed, most local gun owners. 

            What is the solution to such spree killing and massacres?  We don’t have an answer.  One thing, however, is certain.  The NRA has neither the desire nor means to end them.