350 Gun Madness

Here’s a subject matter close to my heart, picked up in today’s Sun Herald by Peter FitzSimons … I've written about GUNS until I was blue in the face (in my book en.light.en.ment)

GUN BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

The way of the world these days is that even though six people were gunned down in California a week ago, details are already starting to fade But you still remember, don’t you, the father of one of them, Christopher Michael-Martinez – who happened to be standing in a convenience store when the shots rang out – making a speech for the ages:

“Why did Chris die?” he tearfully and angrily demanded. “Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’s right to live? When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say, ‘Stop this madness’. We do not have to live like this!”

You were moved, I was moved, some Americans were moved. But not all of them were. As noted by American journalist, Charles P. Pierce, the Chairman of the Election Commission of Simpsonville, South Carolina, Todd Kincannon, tweeted his response to the grieving father.

“Fuck him. He is a piece of shit. His tragedy sucks, but he blamed me for it and wants to take away my rights. The guy is trying to take away my rights to protect my family. Fuck him every day of the week and twice on Sunday.”

He went on: “No idea how my son will die, but I know it won't be cowering like a bitch at UC Santa Barbara. Any son of mine would have been shooting back.”

This is no straw man. This is a response emblematic of large parts of the American population.

And your job, and my job, is to make sure that gun nutters here are subdued.