Subtle Rantings

Do you own a 12 gauge shotgun? Do you own a rifle of any kind? Perhaps you’ve bought some ammo to go hunting or enjoy any other shooting sport? Do you own a handgun of any caliber? Do you want to defend your home and family with these weapons?

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, then you very well may have an “arsenal of weapons” in your house. According to the Drive-By-Media, the man who gunned down a pastor and other parishioners earlier this week “left an arsenal of guns in his bedroom.” What did this so called arsenal consist of? Two 12-gauge shotguns, a rifle, and 550 rounds of .22-caliber bullets. Wow, 2 shotguns, a rifle and some ammo. If the media or Brady Campaign folks ever stopped by some of my friends houses, they’d surely be labeled some sort of Aryan, white supremacist group hellbent on violence. Or maybe, they’ll be painted as some wacko freedom fighting survivalist types. Either way, two shotguns and a rifle (most likely .22-caliber since he had 550 bullets for a .22) hardly constitute an arsenal. Plus, you can’t get a much smaller caliber rifle than a .22. Hardly a weapon of an arsenal.

Here was my favorite quote though:

Authorities said Sedlacek also brought to the church enough ammunition to perhaps kill 30 people.

Enough ammo to KILL 30 people?!? Holy cow! He MUST have had some sort of drum magazine or high capacity magazine in that handgun right? Nope, he had 3 magazines with 10 rounds in each. 30 rounds. That’s it. What the author should’ve said about the killer’s “arsenal” and the 550 rounds of ammo is that he had enough ammunition in his bedroom to kill 550 people. I mean, this is since one bullet equals one potential death. Talk about sensationalizing the news!

While this is a tragic event and I am saddened every time I hear of more gun violence, you can’t paint the gun, the right to own a gun, or the right to have ammo as a crime. The blame lies solely in the individual. I’m very disappointed hard right wingers like Fox News chose to go this route. I can only imagine what CNN or Daily Kos is saying.

Sedlacek followed all the rules. He had a Firearm Owner Identification Card. He acquired his guns legally. He even owned 10 round magazines that would not have been considered “illegal” under the failed Assault Weapons Ban. There was no amount of legislation that could’ve stopped this other than outright banning of firearms. But then again, stuff like this still happens all the time in Europe, so does more gun control really make us safer? Or do we just feel safer? Does it allow some of you to sleep at night knowing there are “no guns” since it’s illegal to own them?

The point is, enforce the laws we have, educate more people about gun ownership and proper use of a firearm, and finally, encourage more gun friendly laws and more gun ownership. I know this is an old argument, but it’s still a valid one: if someone in the church had been carrying a weapon concealed, this tragedy may have been stopped after the first shot rang out. I carry a concealed weapon every day for this reason. I will not be a victim, nor will I allow those around me to be one either. And just remember, if we don’t do something now about our gun rights, you may very well be next the person who is labeled as “having an arsenal in their bedroom.”

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