Sunday, June 17, 2018

SHOOTINGS: WHAT WILL IT TAKE?


What will it take stop the increase in gun violence on school grounds and begin to reverse the numbers of shooting incidents?

Quite simply it begins with good people speaking out against extreme gun-rights advocates.  Specifically, actions such as the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) excursion into paranoid lunacy—a world of complete unfettered access to all guns.

The NRA’s latest excursion into mind control and violation of the constitutional right of freedom of speech centers on their efforts to get states to adopt laws that make it illegal for doctors to ask patients if they have a gun at home. According to USA Today, three states are considering laws that would penalize doctors and other health care providers for asking patients or their parents whether they have a gun at home.

 “The National Rifle Association and other pro-gun interest groups argue that doctors violate patients; second amendment right to keep and bear arms by inquiring about gun ownership. Doctors say they ask only because of safety concerns. Prohibiting them from asking about guns violates the first amendment, at least one constitutional law expert says.”

What about the right of any doctor to ask any patient any question pertaining to the patient’s wellbeing? Apparently the NRA believes there is only one amendment in the Bill of Rights and that is the Second Amendment. If you are going to apply order of importance to the amendments, then it is not unreasonable to think that the most important consideration on the founding fathers’ minds was freedom of speech. The last time I counted “one” came before “two.”

What a shame if the power of the gun lobby, coupled with the cowardice of the politicians, rewrites history and interprets the Constitution to the benefit of the paranoid few and the profits of gun manufacturers and the NRA.

What will it take to stop the blood baths on our school grounds? As a beginning, it will take people such as you demanding action along the lines outlined in this poar. (To Be Continued)




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