Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Fists not arms

Have you heard defenders of the right to carry arms say that guns don't kill people; people kill people. This is just irrationalization clothed in inaccurate rhetoric. The truth is that people with guns kill people. Take away the gun and just how many deaths would be avoided? The gun is powerful, wieldable, and portable. It is most often the tool of bullies and cowards who wouldn't dare manifest their anger without one. The attacker is safe at a distance and most often is aiming at an unarmed victim.
Yes, people kill people. Yes, we have a right to defend ourselves. But how does one defend oneself from a deranged idiot shooting at you because he is a gang member getting initiated, or a angry fired employee trying to unload at his coworkers and bosses , or a macho jerk in a road rage deciding your death is the penalty for cutting him off, or an immature schoolboy bullied daily by his classmates seeking his notoriety and revenge?
How many people are punched to death in a fistfight? Now that's a manly, up-close, mutually honorable way to settle a dispute.