Guns

I’m not a politician. I don’t pretend to be. But it’s quite clear that this country has a problem with guns. The Valentine’s Day school shooting in Florida is the latest massacre that left innocent people dead at the hands of a madman. It won’t be the last. I guarantee you that there will be another major mass shooting before the month is over. How many more Columbines and Sandy Hooks do we have to endure before we wake the fuck up and do something?

Americans love guns. They are a huge part of our history. They are huge part of our entertainment. The top five movies of all time are Avatar, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, and Marvel’s The Avengers. Pretty diverse movies ranging from fantastic space operas, historical love epics, to dinosaurs and superhero collaborations. They all feature guns. We are encouraged to own guns. It’s ingrained in us thanks to mass media and the power of the NRA and a corrupt government that always turns a blind eye.

I’ve shot guns before. I went to a shooting range in Alaska and shot a few handguns and an AR-15. It was fun. I get why people like it. But guns kill people. That’s what they were designed to do, especially the AR-15. Anyone remember lawn darts? That was a game where people threw foot long darts with metal tips at a target. It was a fun childhood game, innocent to the core. Over a ten year period 6,700 people in the USA were injured by lawn darts. 75% of these injuries were to children, three of whom died. Things that kill children are bad, so the government wisely stepped in and banned the sale of lawn darts. Lawn darts killed three kids in ten years and that was enough to make them illegal. Seventeen people died yesterday in Parkland, Florida. Something is clearly wrong here.

Critically Rated at 1/17

Written, Rated, and Reviewed by Brendan H. Young