Tuesday Top Ten: Myths About Gun Violence in America

I meant to post this last night, but ended up going to Rocks to play some trivia.  Thanks to no one, I ended up having to play alone, so I only got third place.  Some of the team names were pretty hilarious, including "I Fingered the Chick in Hansen," "I Shot Seamen All Over the DC Navy Yard," and "I Like My Beer Like I Like My Violence: Domestic."  While walking home, I passed a slow-walking twentysomething male.  To ensure that he didn't think I was about to jump him, I said, "Don't worry, I'm not creeping up on you."  He then revealed the bottle of DiSaronno that he was walking down the street drinking, asked me if I had a cigarette, despite the fact that I was not smoking, offered me a sip of his amaretto (DiSaronno neat -- the original -- one part DiSaronno, one part bottle), and then asked where I was going.  When I said "home," he said that he was looking for a party.  I said it seemed like he already had a pretty good "sidewalk party goin' on," then choloroformed him, took his DiSaronno, and ran away cackling like Dick Cheney.

Anyway, about those seamen.  Unfortunately, I am again asking myself, "so how many more times does this have to happen until lawmakers start to enact some commonsense restrictions on gun ownership?"  With yet another mass shooting under our belt (we average about one a month here in this fine country), restrictions on gun ownership are again finding their way into the national conversation (as they should), although I think we all know nothing will happen, since our legislatures apparently fear the NRA more than they value human lives and safe gun ownership. 

Nonetheless, this week's Tuesday Top Ten comes courtesy of SmartGunLaws.org, and it is a very useful pamphlet entitled "Ten Myths About Gun Violence In America."  It addresses a lot of the idiotic arguments gun nuts make, like "we just need to enforce the gun laws we have," "guns keep us safe," and "we shouldn't enact any restrictions on gun ownership because criminals won't follow the law."  It's an interesting read, and it actually has facts and statistics to support its statements -- something I know the gun lobby likes to avoid.  Anyway, I'm jaded enough at this point to realize that no new laws are going to be passed, even if over 90% of US residents and over 90% of gun owners support something as easy and sensible as universal background checks.  But hopefully some people will read the pamphlet and gain a better understanding of why we need to do something, since doing nothing obviously isn't working.