Gun Violence Isn't a 21st Century Phenomenon

People get amnesia and forget that gun violence is in the very fabric of the existence of this country.

(OKINAWA) - The spokesman for the National Rifle Association tried desperately to make the case for solving the nation's gun problems by suggesting that more people should arm themselves.

His actual words were, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Really? That has to be one of the most idiotic suggestions I’ve ever heard! He blamed video games, movies and music videos for exposing children to a violent culture while totally dismissing guns as the common denominator.

I wonder whom he blamed for all of the gun violence in our country prior to the existence of movies, music videos and video games. I wonder whom he blames for the gun violence in the days preceding the Civil War, during Reconstruction, or the Jim Crow South? It couldn't have been hip-hop music videos, or video games because they didn’t exist.

I seriously doubt that the NRA spokesman would have been on the side of slave abolitionists, the Deacons for Defense, or the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. These were groups of people who rightfully armed themselves against the corrupt lawmakers of their generation, but they were demonized as being radicals and troublemakers for simply trying to protect their families, homes, and communities from the terrorism of white supremacy. In fact, the 1967 Milford Act in California was a law specifically put in place to disarm the Black Panthers.

Sadly, death by way of shooting is not some new concept that somehow exploded in the 21st century. People get amnesia and forget that gun violence is in the very fabric of the existence of this country. Some of the most influential people in American history have died as a result of gun violence.

Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, and Medgar Evers were all victims of gun violence. Like them, there are hundreds of thousands of other Americans who have died by way of a gunshot on the streets of America, outsides the lines of a battlefield.

The gun was and still is used for personal protection, but it is also used as a tool to instill fear in people and to control potentially dangerous situations.

After every mass shooting in America there is a short period of time when people are shocked, or in disbelief that the lives of innocent people were taken by an insane individual who should not have had access to weapons. Predictably, gun rights advocates are fearful that the government is going to knock on their doors and tell them to hand over their stash of guns and ammunition. The idea that the 2nd Amendment is being gutted is a flat out lie from the pit of the propaganda machines at the Fox News Channel and conservative talk radio.

We keep hearing these people quote the passage of the 2nd Amendment that says, “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” but rarely do they include the introductory clause: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state." The key phrase being "well regulated," not a few paranoid, deranged, and obviously crazy individuals free to stockpile as many weapons as they can because they believe in some out of this world conspiracy theory. Remember how well this way of thinking worked out for David Koresh?

The 2nd Amendment does not specify or clearly state what is defined as arms and people have their own idea of the intent of the law. Ironically over the course of the last couple of years, these same 2nd Amendment advocates have been the very people who have completely ignored another Constitutional Amendment, the 15th.

The 15th Amendment is as plainly written as the 2nd Amendment, but some lawmakers have found a different set of rules when it comes to voting. Voter identification laws go against the very spirit of the 15th Amendment because it specifically says, 1. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” 2. “The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

At various times in the country’s history, “appropriate legislation” in some states meant that only a select few individuals were granted their Constitutional right to vote. Absurd voting laws prevented people from voting based on the very items listed in article one of the amendment.

Laws without enforcement are nothing more than ink on a piece of paper. Like many other laws of the land, passage means very little to people who believe they are superior to, or above the law. Forgive me if I don’t have faith in the legislators claiming to be fed up and are once again making empty promises to actually get something done.

How in one breath can a politician say that assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and armor piercing ammunition is protected by one amendment, yet in the same breath ignore the other amendment and mandate that a person must have a special identification to cast a ballot?

It is absolutely baffling that legislators all over the country are doing everything they can to make casting a vote more difficult than buying a gun. In other words, an American citizens’

SodaHead

right to bear arms is more important than another American citizens’ right to vote. If there was ever an assault on a Constitutional Amendment, it is the 15th that we should really be worried about. It should be easier to vote in America than to purchase a firearm, but the opposite is true.

This speaks to the very problem our nation has with the amount of people losing their lives to gun violence. Regardless if the death is a homicide or suicide, too many people are dying as a result of a round leaving the barrel of a gun.

Two personal friends of mine were killed in 2012 in gun related incidents involving someone in their immediate family. I also lost a fellow Marine to a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. There are a countless number of people in cities all over the country that are dying on a daily basis because of gun violence.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T for our fellow man and ourselves; regardless of race, gender, religion, or socio-economic status should be the goal of people on either side of the gun control debate.

"Steve 'Stu' Maynor Jr., USMC is an active duty Marine. You can learn more about Steve Maynor Jr. by visiting http://stuthinks.blogspot.com.

'Stu' Maynor says he does his best to approach each topic with an open mind and from a sarcastic/funny, yet common sense point of view. "My writing style is independent, thoughtful, energetic, motivating and sometimes rebellious to traditional writing standards. Throughout my articles you will find that I discuss issues with a simplistic, yet understandable opinion that I hope you will enjoy and appreciate."

One of his favorite sayings, is "Plan Ahead, It Wasn't Raining When Noah Built the Ark!" The writings of Steve 'Stu' Maynor Jr., USMC, are a valuable addition to Salem-News.com"

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that guy March 31, 2014 2:22 pm (Pacific time)

Hmm, So because you decided to leave out the coma the second amendment really says: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, (note the coma there) the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. What that coma means is the first half about a militia and the second half about the people are separate. The people have the right to keep and bear arms period. The well regulated militia bit is expansion for why the right exists. Not a qualifier or a restriction. Simply hey we need a militia to maintain a free state so the peoples right won't be denied.

Anonymous January 16, 2013 9:38 am (Pacific time)

Millions of Indians killed? Haha. Source? Also recall they introduced "Tobacco" to the world so we know they are responsible for hundreds of millions of painful deaths around the world since the 15th century. What came first, the gun or gun powder? Hint: The Chinese invented gunpowder. Now, most sane historians put the number of Indians in all tribal areas north of Mexico at the time of European arrival at a little over one million, not 15 million. It's assumed most died from diseases, but there is well documented history that Indans were killing, eating and enslaving each other for thousands of years. They continued to do that long after we brought them horses and guns. Our previous caller, obviously a tobacco apologist -- you heard him -- suggested that we invented the gun, and that led to a lot of Indian deaths, too. It was the Chinese. We might have invented the gun, but we couldn't do anything with it until the ChiComs invented gunpowder. Everybody knows this. And here's something else. How many of you have been taught or how many of your kids have come home telling you that Columbus and his band of marauders brought syphilis with them and also infected the Native Americans with it? It's just the other way around. Columbus and his boys caught syphilis here, and they took it back to the Old World with them. January 15, 2008 by Jia-Rui Chong: "Add Syphilis to Columbus' Discoveries, Study Says -- Columbus and his crew likely brought the bacterium out of the New World leading to its global spread, a genetic analysis finds, that conclusion hotly debated." Of course it is, because it goes against conventional wisdom. "The spread of syphilis across the globe was probably sparked by Christopher Columbus and his crew, who ferried the bacterium, or a version of it, from the New World to the Old World, according to a new genetic analysis published," a couple of years ago. And this does not even include gonorrhea. This is just syphilis. I mean, we gave 'em smallpox, yeah, small change compared to syphilis. When you start adding all this up I think we're all owed a bunch of casino chips and a couple packs of cigarettes at no tax. (interruption) What do you mean, how did the Indians have syphilis? How did they have syphilis because they were pure, at one with the earth? I don't know. Well, the earth has everything. The earth has syphilis; earth has cancer. Yeah. The earth is air, atmosphere and all of that. What happened when the Pilgrims arrived. There wasn't any fish and game; there wasn't any FDA; there wasn't any Natural Resources Defense Council; there were no environmentalist wackos; nobody had to get permission to go hunt; nobody had to get a permit to do anything, and it all worked out. Everybody survived, everybody lived, and we ended up with a great country out of it, and the Native Americans also got fed, along with everybody else. So it worked. In the last 50 years who has been the biggest killers of Indians? Don't ask Farrakhan, he will lie.

Anonymous January 15, 2013 7:34 pm (Pacific time)

Stu does not take into account the basic reality that criminals do follow any existing gun laws, just like they will not any new gun laws. Ditto for those engaged in voter fraud. For the average citizen to be able to protect themselves is for them to decide for themselves how they want to pursue that. Rich elites have their armed security, do they have more rights than the average citizen? The 2nd Amendment is a right not a privilige, but beyond that, the evidence is clear that lawfully armed citizens have very little crime. In regards to the voting issue the writer discussed, I believe my comments below were clear. I mentioned Mexico because their firearm murder rate is through the roof and has been long before the Fast and Furious program. Many of their weapons come from not only Europe and the Soviet Union (Russia), but also via their corrupt military. The Cartels have large numbers of fully automatic weapons, and they got semi-auto's from us. So if high levels of gun restrictions worked, then Chicago would be safe. If required voter ID was a hinderance to voters, then Indiana and other states with similar laws would have less minority voters after the law went into effect, not the opposite. Please consider that gunowners come from all demographics, and we will not allow them to be taken away. Expect articles of Impeachment to be filed, and if they go anywhere, well it may be a lit fuse and an eventual build up to something else. Tings are building up, and I expect some very serious redress of grievences.

Douglas Benson January 15, 2013 5:47 pm (Pacific time)

Really Tim? You took an oath to the constitution . Are you really advocating that we should give up our rights? Should we just submit to "bad guys" with guns?

Tim King: I'm not extremely passionate about this either way Douglas, but I'm so far from supporting most of these right wing paranoid gun toters and the NRA is totally unconcerned with the damage done. I can't help paying attention to the numbers, I think certain weapons should be removed, and I think the govt needs to establish an amnesty and reward program for illegal guns. I just don't expect anything less than what is taking place, and I think the 2nd Amendment is seriously misinterpreted. That's about where I stand on it. I do support responsible legal gun ownership.

Anonymous January 15, 2013 1:06 pm (Pacific time)

Stu your history interpretation is very interesting, but when it comes to looking at violence and the death that comes from violence consider this: More people were killed in a very short time via "edges" of some type in Rawanda than in all the war dead of American wars going back to the Revolutionary War. Had this population been armed with firearms and had something like the 2nd Amendment would have nearly one million people have been slaughtered? Doubtful, but then look at the over 500 killed in Chicago last year, what gun laws will they observe? None!Ralph your data is skewed, and is easily dissolved in terms of it's macro reliability/validity when extrapolated on national databases. How do you explain the low crime rates of those with CHL's,in comparison to those who highly restrictive laws like Chicago and D.C. or any large urban area? Our murder rates are lower than 100 years ago as per the FBI, and have been going down for years, even tho' there are millions of more guns out there. Look at the facts! It's so easy to demonstrate the faulty reasoning behind the left, but it's the hypocrisy that one should evaluate. Look at the armed security these people on the left have. Feinstein, Schumer, Moore, Bloomberg, etc. Are they going to give up their security? Of course not. The data clearly shows that more guns in the hands of lawful gunowners the safer one is in comparison to those areas that restrict use. Guns are illegal in Mexico, so how's that working out? You think gangs are going to give up their guns no matter the laws? I say if you are not armed, get trained and learn to protect yourself. As unemployment goes up, there will be more problems.You think the Feds are telling you the actual unemployment percentage? You better come to grips that you have people in power lying to you, and they are not governing, they are preparing to rule. The acts of dividing us by race, gender and socio-economic levels is going at top speed. Those with lower IQ are putty in the hands of those currently in power. Bad times are coming, and you better be able to protect yourselves. Police just draw chalk lines.

Editor: Guns are illegal in Mexico, not all, but most. Still, it is the US government itself that has been delivering them to cartels by the thousand, which does not bode well. Also, you compare today to a hundred years ago.... how about 130 years ago when Native Americans were slaughtered by the million with your precious guns. I think Stu delivers a very level point.

Ralph E. Stone January 15, 2013 6:55 am (Pacific time)

I highly recommend "Gun Laws Matter" (http://smartgunlaws.org/gun-la... Many of the states with the strongest gun laws also have the lowest gun death rates nationwide. Conversely, many states with the weakest gun laws have the highest gun death rates. I also recommend "Celebrating the Prince of Peace in the Land of Guns" by Michael Moore (www.michaelmoore.com/words/mik...

Morris January 14, 2013 3:11 pm (Pacific time)

I WONDER WHEN OBAMA IS GOING TO START TELLING MUSLIMS AROUND THE WORLD TO STOP CLINGING TO THEIR GUNS AND RELIGION? Once you start parsing gun rights, you’ve defined the need for the second amendment. Second Amendment says nothing about hunting. The Second Amendment is implying more about gun confisticators. "The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." -Thomas Jefferson I can't argue with a word of that. I suggest the writer of this article read the private papers of the Founding Fathers, and study the evolution of the 2nd Amendment via Supreme Court Rulings. Then couple those recent rulings with how mayors of Chicago and DC have ignored those rulings. The author is from Florida, which has the highest concentration of CHL's, and their gun crime rate has been trending down, just like the rest of the country. Furthermore, gun crime is higher in those areas that restrict gun ownership.

james neely January 14, 2013 8:14 am (Pacific time)

Some more obamacare indeed.What right do you have to tell americans what to think and do. People who commit crimes whether it is for beliefs or NWO agenda's are faraway from what this nation stands for and shall be! Guns are for hunting true but it helps against crime and communists,also a assult weapon was not used at sandyhook only pistols. Same communist speak coming from the black house as came from communist russia and china and other countries following zionist propaganda.

Ralph E. Stone January 14, 2013 6:19 am (Pacific time)

Check out "America as a Gun Culture" where historian Richard Hofstadter popularized the phrase "gun culture" to describe America's long-held affection for firearms, with many citizens embracing and celebrating the association of guns and America's heritage. (www.americanheritage.com/content/america-gun-culture)

Douglas Benson January 14, 2013 5:49 am (Pacific time)

Ok ,back to the tired old "what did the founders really mean " . So just like any other legal case you must take into context thier other published opinions. You allready know what they are but you just cant admit it. The founders goal was simple ,every man should be armed militia or not. I could bore you with tons of quotes the teeth of liberty and such . But hey lets get right down to it rights are secured by thier use ,they are taken not given. This is one right the people of this country have shown time and time again they will not give up. It would be nice if they were all so near and dear to the american public. Further I support all rights and despise any who would betray thier oath to our democratic republic. Be that religion ,gay rights,free speech,etc. Our rights mean that sometimes the guilty will go free ,people will die ,people will be offended the list goes on. The political sale of our rights [such as significant government interest]no matter how much you try to sugar coat it is wrong. Remember your oath ! Peace Douglas Benson

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