Since the Sandy Hook shooting, CNN's Piers Morgan (a British subject) has been on a crusade on the issue of gun control in America. He has been engaged in a series of contentious interviews with gun-advocates. Last night, he brought on the young conservative editor of Breitbart.com, Ben Shapiro. By most accounts, Morgan bit off more than he could chew with Shapiro, who may be young (I think he is 29), but is intellectually brilliant. Shapiro clearly was not dominated by Morgan last night. I got the impression that Morgan realized early on that Shapiro was more than his match.
One of the main points of contention was whether all firearms should be banned including handguns vs. only assault weapons. Morgan claims he does not oppose an American's right to defend himself with a handgun, but opposes assault weapons-a point I don't necessarily disagree with. Shapiro makes the point that the 2nd Amendment was specifically meant to protect the peoples' right to defend themselves against a tyrannical government (Naturally, assault weapons did not exist then.) If that is a valid legal point, then modern weapons would be included.
So here is a point that is worth discussing: In this day and age, could there be a possibility in the future that we could have a tyrannical government that would take away our rights and turn our democracy into a dictatorship? Some would argue no; that the experience of Watergate showed how strong our system of government is. Others might point out the grabs for power on the part of the Obama administration and the challenges not only to the 2nd Amendment, but the 1st Amendment as well are cause for alarm. For example, I firmly believe that our current Justice Department has been corrupted by Eric Holder. (The Fast and Furious scandal certainly is part of this whole issue, is it not?)
One thing strikes me about Morgan. He is an arrogant Brit who, while living and working in America, does not understand our history and culture. He comes from a country where the police are literally being chased down the streets by radical Islamist thugs who openly proclaim that they are going to take over the nation and install their own Sharia law.
And he wants to tell us what we should do?
So here is a point that is worth discussing: In this day and age, could there be a possibility in the future that we could have a tyrannical government that would take away our rights and turn our democracy into a dictatorship?
ReplyDeleteWhen the Nazis took away the guns Jews said the same thing.
Long term studies comparing Australia and New Zealand (among other studies) show there is no relationship between tougher gun laws and reduction in gun crime. While England has a lower gun crime rate than the US, it has TEN times the number of home invasion crimes.
ReplyDeleteOn the good side this is one issue that is ripe for compromise by both sides.
I saw part of this, and Gary is absolutely correct that Shapiro won this one.
ReplyDeleteMorgan, et al, have this bad habit of insisting on referring to semi-auto so-called "assault weapons", which are actually utilized in only a very very small percentage of U.S. gun crimes, as the equivalent of "machine guns", which is most definitely not the case and is therefore a blatant lie. Many/most non-owners have no idea this is the case.
It is good to see Shapiro fry Morgan's testicular tissue in the frenzied fires of fear! Bretbart trained Shapiro well as Andrew would always go straight into the leftist bully flames to vanquist the Progressives.
ReplyDeleteNow, that said, many sporting types buy the AR-15 platform rifles for the fun of target shooting. If one has never pulled the trigger of this sort of rifle to hit targets, they have missed more fun than a barrel of monkeys. And, this is why many citizens purchase the AR-15 style rifle.
The AR-15 was designated an "Assault" rifle by the Democrates when they passed the first ban. It was never an "Assault rifle before then. In addition, the leftists determined that the rifle had evil parts, such as detactable magazines, and detachable flash defusers. The leftists also coined the term "High-Capacity" magazines, which they want to ban. Be aware that the AR-15 rifle itself is not the threat, it is the mentally ill person and the criminal. Keep the weapons, of all sorts, away from these types, as the current laws state. Police the current laws and the problem is over.
There are school safety programs that can save lives. The United States Secret Service has developed a very effect way to reduce targeted violence in schools and has the document free for U.S. schools. Many U.S. schools do not implement the program, because they have other higher priorities, not the protection of children from targeted violence. Go the the U.S.S.S. Threat Assessment Center and download this document and see for yourself, what the schools fail to implement. Shame on the schools for not doing their homework. Now we have the death of children on their hands. Last, Obama, Biden, Coumo, Bloomberg and others will miss the point, by banning weopans and not focusing on the real problem of targeted violence in the schools.
Squid
Note to Squid--among many other things the NRA, of course, does a lot of gun safety programs, including to schools and young children, which is never mentioned by the MM.
ReplyDelete