Not again! Another murder spree with semiautomatic weapons in the hands of a crazy person, and in this case a white supremacist crazy person.*
Of course, no one in his or her right mind would be less than outraged by mass shootings proliferating around the world, whatever motive. First and foremost on our mourning minds is the loss of futures of the dead and the unbearable grief of their surviving friends and families. But, again, I will express how impossible it is to accept in a “civilized” world the legality and prevalence of semiautomatic weapons.
The New Zealand shooter used two such killing implements to gun down 49 beloveds, an attack he referred to as “against the invaders,” referring to the Muslim population in New Zealand. Not for nothing, I find this an interesting choice of words.
The Australian terrorist published a manifesto in which he hailed a certain U.S. president as “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.” It’s not so good when admitted white supremacists consider you part of their group! Just sayin’
On December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children between six and seven years old, and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Some of the families of the victims have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Remington gun manufacturer of semiautomatic weapons, including the AR-15.
To be honest, though I am, and have been in favor of banning all assault type rifles and melting them down to make garden tools, my first reaction was less than supportive of the suit. It seemed misplaced and possibly financially motivated. I can’t speak to anyone’s motives, but when I heard that part of their case against the gun company had to do with the ads that they run for the AR.
Check out this ad:
“When you need to perform under pressure, Bushmaster delivers… Ready for Anything. Prepared for Everything.”
What “anything” or “everything” are we talking about here? Elephant stampedes? (Before firearm aficionados object, I know one doesn’t use an AR for elephants. It’s satire. Or is it hyperbole? Either way.) Or maybe it’s the horde of “rapists and criminals pouring through our southern border” that requires all Americans to own AR-15s! (Now that’s satire for sure. Although unfortunately some people actually think this way.)
But seriously, what does one need to be “prepared” for? Those who answer, “I have to protect myself and my family,” read this.
But the vilest ad run by Remington in my opinion is the one shown above, baiting men to prove their manhood by owning a Bushmaster. Get one of these and then you can:
“Consider your man card reissued”!
Are you kidding me? Your “Man card”?! Seriously now, if you need a card to prove you’re a man, you’re not a man to begin with! To say nothing of needing an assault-type rifle to qualify for the card for manhood. Could you, as they say, be compensating for something?
A man who needs an AR rifle to play “I’m A Man” is like the 6-year old boy who runs around with a cape and a big “S” on his chest. The difference is that he knows he’s not from Krypton and can’t really run faster than a speeding bullet.
Remember the old TV ads for cigarettes? The epitome of the manly man was the cowboy Marlboro Man of Marlboro Country on his horse out on the range taking a huge drag from a cig. Men working in offices fantasized being out there with him, not to mention their woman at their side. Boys may be boys, but real men smoke Marlboros!
Mercifully they banned cigarette companies from advertising on TV or radio for public health sake. Yet, now it’s a gun that will make a man of you! It’s not OK to promote cancer sticks that can kill only you (second hand smoke notwithstanding) but OK to promote an AR-15 that can kill a lot of other people, all in the name of proving you’re a real man?
I hope they win the suit!
*I’m aware that there are other factors involved in mass shootings like this recent one in New Zealand. It’s not all about the “gun debate” itself or even just about semiautomatic weapons. Other factors involved include the rise in, or if you prefer, the persistence of violent forms of white nationalism, otherwise known as racism, as was clearly the case of the New Zealand shooting. Also involved is the issue of better gun registration laws so that mentally ill people can’t buy weapons. There’s the Second Amendment debate that needs to be included, focusing on its original intent. One could bring up the role of bug money gun lobbying groups such as the NRA and its bank rolling of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. I address some of those things in other posts, but in this one my main concern is what I consider to be a no-brainer that semiautomatics should be banned in our country as they have been in other countries and used to be here.
Read also: Tired of Waiting for the “Right Time” to Talk About Guns!
Read also: How US gun culture compares with the world in five charts
Ready also: Advent Declaration on Gun Violence
barney wiget 
Agree with most of what you say, but what bothers me is that hundreds of Christians have been massacred in just the last few months, and the media basically ignores it all… I can’t wrap my head around that. I suppose going after guns is easier than going after radical terrorists nuts with guns…
LikeLike
Thanks for chiming in E. I don’t know what massacre you’re referring to?
LikeLike
In our part of the country (Midwest) women are just as likely to own and shoot AR 15’s or other semi-automatic weapons as men. You should add a renewed feminine card.
LikeLike