The
bottom line on gun laws in the USA is, surprise, profit. What matters
most is not banning any guns, including military-style assault
weapons. There are already more than 20 million AR-15-type assault
weapons in the hands of Americans, with more being sold legally every
day. They and their related gear (ammo, ammo magazines, and so on)
are a big source of profit to American gun makers and gun sellers, so
you can be sure that those guns will be protected, unlike the victims
of them.
To
illustrate this, two stories popped up in my email. The first, from
CNN, is a quick summary of where we stand on gun control measures in
Congress:
The
current changes to gun laws under consideration include hardening
school security, providing more funding for mental health care and
ensuring that juvenile records can be considered when a person
between the
ages of 18 and 21
wants
to buy a semi-automatic weapon. Federal incentives for states to pass
so-called red
flag laws
are
also being discussed. However, despite the ongoing talks, it remains
unclear whether there will be enough Republican support to push the
legislation forward.
Note
that Orwellian term: the “hardening” of school security.
Schools are now being talked about in military terms as “soft”
targets for mass shooters. Naturally, the solution isn’t to
deny shooters their assault weapons. No: let’s turn every
school into a “hardened” fortress, with more fences,
cameras, locking doors, and armed guards (perhaps with AR-15s?). How
long before our schools are indistinguishable from our prisons?
You’ll
note, of course, that none of the “new” gun laws being
considered by Congress will reduce the number of guns in circulation.
Gun sales will continue to soar. When you think about it, guns now
have more rights in America than people do.
The
second story involves a Hollywood celebrity, Matthew McConaughey, who
was born in Uvalde, Texas, and who’s been working with the
Biden administration in the cause of “responsible” gun
control. He’s called for “universal background checks,
raising the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 to 21, a waiting
period for purchasing AR-15s and the implementation of red flag
laws.” These steps are better than nothing, but again they will
not impact the profit margins of gun makers/sellers. Even so, they
are likely to be judged too radical by Republicans in Congress.
President
Biden has called for a ban on new assault weapons, but it’s
simply empty words. He knows a ban stands no chance of getting
through Congress. If the Democrats really wanted to accomplish
something, they’d get rid of the filibuster in the Senate, but
they’re not about to do that, especially since they’re
likely to lose control of the Senate after the November elections.
Speaking
of Joe Biden, I saw this hilarious headline at NBC News today:
“Biden’s gaffes might actually be his selling point.”
The gist of the
op-ed is
that Biden often misspeaks and sounds both angry and confused, but
these qualities make him “authentic” to voters, therefore
“let Biden be Biden” and don’t try to handle or
edit him.
That’s
where we’re at as a country. Guns have more rights than people
and our president is to be embraced for all the gaffes he makes. What
a country!
