Rumination IX – Something I Have To Write

Before I launch into my latest post, you need to know one thing: I write mostly for me.

Others may like some of what I have to say, but for the most part, writing for me is a cathartic exercise. It allows me to collect my thoughts, and then vent a little about things that are on my mind.

If you like what I have to say, then I’m extremely flattered. If you don’t, that’s OK, because I was probably writing it for me anyway.

OK, here’s the latest …

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you’ve probably figured me out. I’m a very conservative person – a “right-winger”, if you will. And if being a Bible-believing, fiscally-conservative, freedom-loving, gun-totin’, Constitution-defending, American Patriot gets me labeled as such (and investigated by the IRS), then I’m all the prouder of that moniker.

The senseless attack at the Boston Marathon earlier this month finally pushed me over the edge. If you read my post from some time back about the Sandy Hook tragedy, then you may have some idea as to what I’m about to say.

While the Senate has been debating legislation that would infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, a couple of Muslim extremists killed and maimed US citizens using homemade explosive devices. The media probably didn’t mention it, but no guns were used in the bombing, yet a lot of folks were hurt.

So, in order to protect American citizens from senseless acts of violence in the future, I offer this list of possible amendments that the Senate might want to consider for their legislation:

• Establish a limit for the amount of shrapnel that can legally be included in an improvised explosive device. Surely they can reach agreement on some “sensible” limit that would protect Americans from senseless violence.
• Create a national registry of pressure-cooker owners and require a 24-hour “cooling off” period before someone could acquire one. Otherwise folks might purchase one in a moment of passion and make a bomb out of it.
• Require background checks before allowing the purchase of nails and ball bearings. We don’t want them falling into the wrong hands.
• Close the loophole that allows the private exchange of cellular phones at electronics shows, or the passing of them from one generation to the next by inheritance. They can be used as triggers for detonation of homemade bombs and must be tracked.
• Track the flow of backpacks across the US-Mexican border to determine how many of them come back across to be used in terrorist attacks. That would help the Feds identify those selling backpacks without proper documentation.
• Suspend the First Amendment rights of extremist organizations like Major League Baseball, which advocates the open carry of dangerous items such as baseball bats. Silence the Professional Golfers Association, which supports the widespread ownership of dozens of dangerous clubs. These organizations spread dangerous ideas and encourage violence.
• Limit the length of baseball bats to 12″. Anything longer could be dangerous. The same limit should be applied to golf clubs, hockey sticks, and whatever you call those things they use in lacrosse. They could be used to beat people. (Oh, wait … that’s the objective of the game of hockey.)

I hope you understand the tongue-in-cheek nature of these comments. However, the attempts by Congress to limit by legislation the number of rounds in an ammunition magazine is equally silly. The fact is that criminals do not obey laws (by definition), so the only impact that laws banning this or limiting that can possibly have is on law-abiding citizens.

You’ve heard it before, but I’ll repeat it for emphasis: guns don’t kill people … people kill people.

I’ll add these potential weapons to the list: rocks, knives, box cutters, scissors, baseball bats, hockey sticks, tree limbs, broom handles, pressure cookers, cellphones, nails, ball bearings, fireworks, ropes, garrotes, etc., don’t kill people, either. NONE of these items has ever, of its own volition, jumped up and killed someone. But people have been using all of these things (and more) to kill people for centuries. Laws have NEVER succeeded in changing that.

As my mother and father said innumerable times during my childhood: “you can’t legislate morality”. Passing a law against something is not going to stop someone hell-bent on breaking that law from doing it. After all, murder is already illegal, and has been for thousands of years.

Seeking to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens in an effort to curtail the actions of criminals is not only ineffective … it’s just plain dumb.