As the NRA waits for the "Newtown Effect" to fade, we got two reminders today of the continuing impact of the mass shooting. Before the Red Sox/Yankees opening day game in The Bronx, there was a fitting remembrance of what happened in December. Meanwhile in Hartford, Connecticut lawmakers announced a deal on what they called some of the toughest gun laws in the country. Unlike many other states, the newly enacted laws drew both Democratic and Republican support. I heard a local talk show host waste no time in riling up his right wing listener base claiming the new laws would have done nothing to prevent the Newtown massacre. Since the 1993 national assault weapons restrictions expired in the last decade, we'll never know that, will we? The one thing the NRA has proposed has been making armed camps out of all our public schools. Sure, that "take it or leave it" contribution to the national gun debate guarantees even more widespread business for the gun makers they represent, it's not enough. Towns can hire more armed guards if they so choose, but if mass shootings can occur on military bases then what makes this the one effective answer to a determined killer armed for maximum destruction? The only other argument by gun control opponents is the whole idea that this is the start of a federal government plan to confiscate all firearms. That is pure paranoia based on nothing real. Today, our Connecticut lawmakers can be proud of reaching across the aisle and taking a stand. Are you listening, Washington? I have my doubts.
No comments:
Post a Comment