The other night on a local news broadcast, there was a woman talking about gun violence. They identified her by name and said that her daughter had been a victim of gun violence. She had a sadness in her eyes as she said, “Something has to be done. But first we need to stop shouting at each other.”

(At first, I thought she had said that we need to stop shooting at each other, but then I realized that she had said “shouting.” Both would be good ideas.)

A couple days ago, it was the third anniversary of those elementary school kids getting slaughtered in their classrooms just before Christmas. When I first heard about it, I had the most horrible thought. I remember thinking, “I wonder if there’s a video of it. Maybe if there is, we might be able to get something done.”

I no longer believe that. After that massacre, the National Rifle Association tightened its vise-like grip on the microscopic collective scrotum of Congress and even managed to get some state legislatures (like Arizona’s, the worst in all of America) to make it even easier for crazy people to get and use guns.

A few months ago, a guy emailed me and wrote: “You just don’t get it. Don’t you understand that me exercising my Second Amendment rights is what protects your First Amendment rights?”

I answered him and began with, “That would be ‘my exercising my Second Amendment rights.’ It’s a gerund.” I have found that pissed-off people have a tendency to warm right up to you if you correct their grammar, syntax, and/or punctuation. (I also found it hilarious that he would capitalize Second Amendment, but not first.)

I did my best to explain to him that his owning or firing or fondling a gun had absolutely nothing to do with my First Amendment rights. I can talk all the crap in the world without my or anybody else owning a gun. His arsenal doesn’t protect me from the imaginary government boogey man. It doesn’t protect me from ISIS. And it doesn’t protect me from the Ted Kaczynski clone whose tin-foil hat picks up Carly Fiorina lying her ass off about what goes on at Planned Parenthood, after which he goes on a rampage.

We exchanged emails for a while and didn’t agree on anything, but we weren’t shouting. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even get him to agree that the amendments aren’t absolute. I pointed out that even during Prohibition people could get alcohol by medical prescription. It’s really cool. You can go on the website of the Smithsonian and they have one of the original prescription forms, including a line that asks “Ailment For Which Prescribed.”

Next time you’re with a politician or one of your gun-nut buddies or co-workers, give this a try. Ask them to complete this sentence: “If there were no guns in the United States, __________________________.” You’ll be stunned and dismayed at how many will jerk their knees and say “…then only criminals will have guns.”

Then you have to go back and repeat it. “If there were NO guns in the United States, ______________________.” The next response you’ll get is, “Well, people will still kill each other with knives or sticks or swords.” That may be true, but we wouldn’t have the mass killings we have today. You’re not going to have a woman from Pakistan killing 14 people with a stick, nor would a frail nutbird be able to walk into an elementary school and slaughter 20 kids and six adults with a knife.

Keeping guns away from crazy people wouldn’t make them less crazy. But it would make them less dangerous.

A guy I know hates the liberal media and thinks that the focus on mass shootings is a left-wing conspiracy that could lead to gun confiscation. He loves to point out that there was a mass shooting “in Sweden, of all places.” Yeah, except it was in Norway, but we all make that mistake.

Mass shootings have indeed happened in other countries. Between 2009 and 2013, there were three mass shootings in Germany, and two each in Finland, Canada, Switzerland, and Israel. During that same time period, there was also one each in France, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and the aforementioned one in Norway.

In the United States, there were 38. How can anybody think that’s okay, that it’s the price we pay as a country for unfettered gun ownership?

Late in his life, Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes fame lamented the fact that he would not live to see peace in the Middle East between Israel and its Arab neighbors. He said that, on a couple occasions, he thought that there might be a chance, but the opportunity always turned out to have been a mirage or a false hope.

I know that feeling. I used to think that America would mature as a country and reject mindless gun violence. I also voted for George McGovern.

There are small signs of hope. I read recently that the percentage of Americans who own guns has gone down from around 50 percent in the 1970s to just over 30 percent today. That doesn’t mean that in another 45 years, it will be down to 10 percent. However, I’m willing to wait around and see.

This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2015.

15 replies on “Danehy”

  1. Tom, we are starting to. There is a reason for the increase in persons applying for and getting concealed carry permits. We will not take it anymore.

    People are starting to realize that gun-free zones are killing zones, and that the only way to stop evil is to kill it quickly.

    My only concern is that these new carriers will not take the time to learn not only how to shoot, but when to shoot, what to shoot, and have the wisdom to apply it properly in the face of evil.

  2. If you could guarantee that there would be NO guns in the US them law abiding citizens might be willing to give theirs up, but as we all know the criminals would not turn theirs in, and you could not go confiscate them because they are not registered to them. So if the law required law abide rs to give them up, we would be reduced to hoping the police get there to save you before the criminal finds you under the bed. Never going to happen. Here is a link to stats on gun violence in Australia after the crackdown in 1996. Remember the US is a much different place than Australia. One thing the gun confiscating fanatics don’t argue, to my surprise, is that “no guns in the US” might lower suicide rates.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/05/world/au…®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

  3. Arguing against gun violence by routinely citing our sensational, highly publicized mass shootings like Sandy Hook (or Tucson) misses the point. Combined, all the mass shootings contribute less than one percent to the total of those murdered every year by armed criminals using weapons bought and sold on the black market. Arguing for gun control citing these same massacres plays into the hands of those who want no gun control at all because the perpetrators are nearly always mentally ill and often known to authorities and mental health professionals.

    Ending gun violence, the violence that mows down tens of thousands each year, not tens or hundreds, begins with disarming violent criminals and confiscating and destroying their weapons. It involves hard, often politically incorrect choices including Draconian laws and mandatory sentences for even carrying a weapon in the commission of any crime against a person.

    The US electorate and political class has earned the sobriquet of “The Limited Attention Span Theater” waking from the doldrums of daily carnage only when another mass shooting takes place somewhere in America. The lives of scores of unknown and under-reported innocent adults and children murdered every day are equally as important as those highly publicized lost in these terrible shooting rampages. In formulating policy it would be a novel approach to focus on the forest and not the individual trees.

  4. I wish the anti-NRA writers would consider that the NRA is not the force they claim it is! The NRA would be powerless if they were not representing a huge part of the population. All lobbyists’ power stems from the officials’ (lobby-ees???) fundamental agreement to the principles or causes that are being lobbied for. (Straighten out that sentence, Tom, if you can…) It might come as a surprise to discover that there are actually principled differences among serious and well-intentioned people. There are real issues. As to voting for McGovern, Tom, do you realize he commented that he would never have been able to get on the ballot without an anonymous ten million dollar contribution from a single individual? Check his comments against any limits on campaign donations and you’ll be shocked!

  5. I wish I was hopeful regarding gun violence in this country.
    I saw a guy walking near the library in downtown Tucson on Stone Ave, middle of the day. White shirt, tie, slacks, and a holstered gun on his hip. I figured a detective, but I saw no badge or ID. I walked behind him till he unlocked his car and got in. His car was a genuine piece of junk. Dented, trashed interior, and a lot of his belongings stored in the car. What struck me as funny was that he had a Club on his steering wheel to prevent auto theft! This car was a beater, and I deduced he lives in constant paranoia. No one would think twice about stealing his car. It would have been an improvement in his life if someone stole his car.
    People are living in fear, and guns enable them to feel empowered.
    I also think some gun enthusiasts are selfish. They are simply not willing to sacrifice owning an assault weapon, or live with some regulations or smart gun technology in order to potentially save even one innocent fatality.

  7. Another one of those good law abiding gun toting citizens of Arizona the other day hopped on his bike and chased an evil doer and shoot him in the back killing him because he stole 2 packages of beer from a chain outlet that wisely prohibits its own employees from exercising this same stupid move. Only the theft of two loaves of bread would exceed this stupidity. Will the states attorney prosecute this dimwit for murder of any degree? That is doubtful, but if so then 12 dimwits on a jury, will most likely, find that the probable defense that he felt his life was threatened, justifies a non guilty verdict.

  8. I could smell this one coming like the garbage truck coming down my street when I’m out walking my dog. A garbage truck and one of No Testicles Tommy’s columns. Good comparison except a garbage truck actually serves a purpose. A few words of wisdom to all you Second Amendment supporters. I’m sure you’d like to comment on Tommy’s column, but you may not want to waste your time. Having dealt with him for almost 7 years now, I know how it is. In that spittoon with ears he calls a mind he has a simple way of looking at things. He’s right. If you disagree with him you’re wrong. Period. And don’t dare disprove him. Several years ago he was using his column to have a hissy-fit over guns. He said and I quote ” I’m still waiting to hear of one instance where a woman used a firearm to save herself from harm” 15 minutes later he had one is his in box compliments of yours truly. He spent the next 8 months ignoring me. I have a suggestion for Tommy. It’s no secret how you hate guns. Why still live in Az.? We always get A + ratings from various gun magazines or pro-gun groups. Why not move to someplace like California ? Your kids are both grown. And yes we know they both have engineering degrees. Just think, it’s close by, has nice beaches and no more 100 degree summers. And best of all, California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country. That means the bad guys can’t get guns so you don’t have to worry about getting shot.
    OOOPS !
    SAN BERNARDINO
    GUESS NOT

  11. Wow,
    Time for the recycled ” gun violence” column once again.
    I had to temporarily come out of TD rebuttal retirement for this one.
    The correct answer is- if there were no guns in the U.S.- we would be like Mexico.
    Your “imaginary government boogey man” would no longer be imaginary.
    Only a very repressive government and the cartels would be armed.
    The cartels are armed better than ever by the way, thanks to B.O. and Holder and that brilliant “fast and furious” scheme.

    So today we learned from TD that law abiding, gun owning citizens are bad and that Planned Parenthood is being picked on.
    Considering that you call yourself an ” industrial strength Catholic” Tom, you sure seem to
    bang on the wrong folks. Why did PP immediately apologize after the videos were released?
    Maybe you can join those sweet women for a salad and a sip of merlot and talk about buying a Lamborghini after selling some more baby parts. Great Christmas chat for progressives.
    Blaming us second amendment lovers for the crimes of Radical Islamists,
    ( come on, you can say those words Tom) or the mentally unhinged is whack.
    You may be better educated and smarter than the rest of us, but you lack common sense.
    Maybe in your next column you will defend the hordes of sexually deviate Catholic priests while
    slamming those awful evangelical home schooling folks. That would be classic Danehy morality.
    I would say that you have lost all credibility, but now I have come to realize that you never really had any to begin with.
    Merry Christmas CW. Keep up the good fight. Now back to shopping for second amendment stocking stuffers and smoking another non p.c. cigar.

  12. Same to you Vince. Good to have you back. We miss you in the war with the 3 L’s. Can’t say as I blame you for packing it in. Dealing with phony fools like N.T.T. is actually loads of fun, but his rants can get played out. I love how you jumped all over Mr. Devout Catholic and his support of Planned Parenthood. Shows how full of crap he is.

  13. Tom, your column about gun control thrilled me because someone actually knew what a gerund was! Therefore, I was disappointed you didn’t simply quote the Second Amendment and parse it for its meaning. The sentence is a mess, but no matter how much one is itching to caress the oiled barrel of an assault weapon, it’s absurd to ignore the introductory phrase, you know, the mention of a well-regulated militia.

  14. So tell us Jefferson, what exactly is an assault weapon? This numbnut is going to lecture us about guns and he doesn’t have a clue as to which end of the barrel the round comes out of . If one of No Testicles Tommy’s columns thrills you I suggest you find a life or some other form of stimulation.

  15. Gun nuts are deranged. They unanimously prefer fondling their tools more than protecting their loved ones. There’s some common sense for you. You are invited to convince me otherwise.

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