Guns: A Fable

Well, maybe not a fable, per se, but I was having a hard time coming up with a title for this post. Anyway, I’m going to let a few videos and stories make my point today.

 

This incident apparently happened in Ohio on October 10, 2009.

These next two videos are from Gun Show: Undercover (A Project of the City of New York). Thinking of the bar shootout video above, keep in mind that Ohio was one of the states that New York’s investigators focused on for the Gun Show: Undercover.

 

Next, read the story “Should these men have been allowed to carry a gun?” published in The Indianapolis Star on October 11, 2009.

Now watch the video below:

The article that goes with this video (from the Sun Sentinal) describing the gathering of the Broward County Republicans at the gun range includes this additional fact:

One of the shooters at the Tuesday evening event was Robert Lowry, a Republican candidate hoping to unseat U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston. Lowry's target had the letters "DWS" next to the silhouette head.

Lowry said he didn't know who wrote Wasserman Schultz' initials on his target, but said he knew they were there before he started shooting. He initially described it as a "joke," but after answering several questions he said it "was a mistake" to use a target labeled "DWS."

That’s right: A candidate for Congress thought it was a joke to shoot a weapon at a target labeled with the initials of the incumbent member of Congress (and his opponent … or is that enemy?). Hah, hah, hah. Here is the response from Rep. Wasserman Schultz:

There is nothing light or funny about pretending to shoot someone. At a time in our country when people are bringing guns to Town Hall Meetings and a preacher is calling for the death of our President, I find this type of action serious and disturbing. Tonight I am going to have to talk to my young children about why someone is pretending to shoot their mother. Trivializing violent behavior is the kind of extreme view that has no place in American politics.

With all of this firmly in mind, recall these photos that I posted previously:

And finally, take a look at these news videos:

 

 

I know that there are a lot of disparate elements in these videos and stories. I also recognize that there is no direct link between some of the concerns raised in the initial videos and stories and those at the end of this post. However, the nexus between these videos and stories – guns – is real. I could spend a lot of time writing about my thoughts on these videos and about guns. But I think that the videos and stories speak for themselves and provide ample evidence of issues about which we should be concerned.