General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: You can't reason with the pro gun crowd. [View all]Algernon Moncrieff
(5,780 posts)Everybody in the American political fight loves the Constitution, but everyone picks and chooses the amendments and articles they love best. Despite the "well regulated militia" wording, the courts have interpreted the amendment to mean that the citizenry can arm itself. From time to time, we've put limits on that, such as with automatic weaponry.
And plenty of people use guns in perfectly lawful, respectable manners: they shoot skeet; they hunt predators on their ranch; they engage in legal (and - as a motorist - I'd assert beneficial) hunting.
The gun control movement really has no clear, unified voice in the manner of the NRA. The NRA doesn't just perform lobbying: they sponsor shooting sports tournaments, and teach courses to promote firearms safety. Nobody is out there countering that with the same sort of enthusiasm and membershipp level.
My sense is that if this nation were going o address this problem, they'd have done so after Sandy Hook. They didn't. Now my sense is that we just accept that -- every year to year and a half -- there will be a mass shooting.