“There can be no discussion of mass murder without touching the nation’s foolhardy obsession with weapons of war. The Pulse assailant (and again I won’t print his name) was in possession of LEGALLY obtained assault weapons. Absurdly, they are easier to buy than birth control pills and many varieties of cold medicine. And we wonder how we keep finding ourselves here. There are those (with great strain, I’m trying to avoid name calling) that say “a madman will find a way to kill.” Perhaps. But with a knife, would this guy have been able to quickly execute and injure over a hundred people? Not a chance in hell.
This piece may sound like I’m advocating for a universal nightclub lockdown. I am. If the nation’s gun laws are unchangeable (and there’s no reason to think otherwise), then it is unfairly incumbent on us to do so. The fear I felt as I skirted past Bourbon Street jazz clubs last night was real and tragic. And where appeals to emotional humanity and morality have failed to stir the gun lobby and its Washington flunkies, perhaps we can send an economic message: “We won’t go where we can be shot. Fix this now.”
Read the full post at Contemptor.
becky sarwate 