We all thought it would be different, didn’t we. After Columbine. After Aurora. After Sandy Hook.
But no. Nope. Nada. Didn’t happen
We’ve all gotten used to thinking the unthinkable: Not a chance for change. Not with the money the NRA has behind them. Not with the gun folks getting progressively crazier.
So some creative thinking was called for.
BAM!
Right to the Heart!
Naturally, the gun nuts are going, well, nuts. As reported in the Huffington Post where I found the video:
The National Rifle Association’s New York affiliate immediately condemned the stunt and called for an investigation into whether the organizers violated New York’s gun laws.
“[It is a] felony violation of the Sullivan Act for a person to possess a handgun anywhere in New York without a license. The video clearly shows individual ‘customers’ handling various handguns and doing so in an unsafe manner,” New York State Rifle and Pistol Association President Thomas King said in a press release.
Because, you see, it’s not OK to “handle” a gun, but the 2nd Amendment gives us all the right to own them. And use them.
* * *
Timiny Cricket, a commenter, said that he’d
like to hear about some of the positive examples where a gun scared away someone about to commit a crime or even was used in self defense and saved the owner’s life.
10 Pro-Gun Myths, Shot Down
FiftyFourandAHalf 
I am very anti-gun & I think this is a great idea! I don’t think this kind of thing could be done with just an attached tag though because I think, for someone who wants the thrill of touching a gun used in a murder, it might excite some people. Having someone explain the history like this guy does is a much better idea. Even if you don’t have the actual gun used in a crime they could point out this is the exact make & model of the gun used . . .
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Sandy Hook is not far from where I live and I shutter to think where the killer was headed next with his arsenal. To ease the pain, people tried to think of those children as angels in heaven, but we shouldn’t suppress the pain. We need to stay enraged. Paraphrasing what one victim’s mother said, these weren’t just angels who went to heaven – these children were butchered.
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They were. And we did nothing to prevent it from happening that time, and nothing to prevent it happening again. It makes me madder than anything.
My (late) sister lived in Sandy Hook for years, raised her 3 kids there. I still have relatives who live there. It is a beautiful place and a lesser (much) sad thing is that it will always be known for what one guy with a gun was able to do.
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That’s true. I remember one resident saying exactly that. Sandy Hook will forever be synonymous with the unspeakable tragedy, just like Columbine. I still remember Kent State.
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Yes. And so many other senseless acts of violence. What kind of a world have we made?
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I had seen references to this video other places, but never watched the video until I came to your blog. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting (which is entirely the point). The reason I hadn’t watched it previously was because I was expecting it to be yet another piece of propaganda telling us why every person should be armed to the teeth, and my stomach wasn’t up for such nonsense. Glad now that I watched it. I know some will argue that it’s nothing more than a one-sided argument against owning guns, but seriously, the thought of holding the gun that killed someone (or many) is truly enough to give even the most staunch gun advocate a little pause.
Thanks for sharing the video. Any chance you have another video in your back pocket that will erase the idea of Ted Cruz (Rep-Texas) announcing his bid for President?
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No to Ted. But I am sure we can find some vomit videos.
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I have become cynical. I weep at the history, I weep in pain some days as well. But I have become cynical. As I look down the barrel of another surgical intervention, I have become furious at the lack of compassion and empathy this nation has.
I am going to steal this one, I will link to you and thank you.
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You may steal from me any old time — no weapon needed 😉
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Hi, it’s me. Your resident cynic. Ready?
I, for one, never once thought things would change after Sandy Hook. Not even massacred school children can loosen the grip the gun lobby has on our politicians. Money and power trump children every time. It always will.
And speaking of cynical, what did they think they’d accomplish with this film? Is this supposed to be a shaming or a wake-up call? You set up some unknowing people and back them into a corner for the sake of espousing an ideology. Oh, don’t forget the dreary background music. It adds gravitas I hate guns as much as you do but this is a silly exercise.It’s not going to change any minds. Just inflame an already overheated debate.
If you need me, I’ll be under my rock counting my toes.
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I think they wanted to make people think. Wanted attention. The video has tons of views.
I hope. I keep hoping. Which is really all I can do because I already know that I have 11 toes ;).
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A video of a bunch of sitting ducks is going to make people think, alright. Just not the way they intended.
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I disagree. I think that if the point sinks in to just a few folks, well, that’s worth a lot. Guns are just dangerous. They only have one purpose and that is to kill.
If not owning one, and relying on the police to keep me safe makes me a sitting duck, so be it. I have a very different kind of peace of mind.
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I’m with you. Nobody should be allowed to own an assault rifle.
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Right. Nobody.
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It’s one of the questions I get most as an expat, along the line of “WTF is going on in the US with guns?” or “Is it like the Wild West there?” No matter how many statistics you show or how many stories, it doesn’t even seem to make a dent. I thought for sure that after a bunch of seven year olds were gunned down things would change. But as you said, nope. I mean, if that doesn’t make people sit up and think (hello, doesn’t the right of a 7 year old to continue their life trump someone’s ability to easily access a firearm???), then I’m not sure there’s any hope at all. And that’s the saddest thing. People have GIVEN UP HOPE that change can happen. They just are accepting it now and buying bullet proof backpacks.
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Oh dear. I accidentally trashed your comment — sorry about that one. The bubbles are getting more and more sensitive.
Aboutt your comment — you are absolutely right. And while things hadn’t progressed THIS far when I was there, it did make me feel like I was perpetually wearing chaps and a 10 gallon hat.
My sister raised her three kids in Sandy Hook. They went to that elementary school. I have friends and family still in that town. It just breaks my heart.
But the last time I was there, I wanted to commit an act of violence. The town is filled with signs that read: “We are Sandy Hook. We Choose Love.” And then I saw a beat up old truck with a bumpersticker that said “We are Newtown. We choose FREEDOM.” Yup. You are some kind of piece of work mister. You choose your freedom over that of a 6 year old. 20 of them. Yup. Big Fucking man.
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I hope you accidentally rammed his truck with your car.
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I seriously considered it. But then I am pretty sure he would have shot me.
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Yes, there is that.
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Sadly, these days, there’s always more of that.
In fact, I’m possibly becoming paranoid. I was at the grocery store just now. There was a big car parked so badly that I had to giggle — but then I saw an NRA sticker on the back. All I could think of was “I hope you can aim that uzi better,” and I started giggling more. A guy saw me and glared at me as he got into the poorly parked pickup truck. I know he knew exactly why I was laughing.
It’s good to be alive …
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I do like shooting guns, but I don’t own one.
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You probably don’t aim them at people, either.
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nope
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A 14 year old and two 15 year old BOYS just shot and killed a man here in Philly who was walking his dog. A robbery gone bad … yea really bad for the guy with his dog and that family. When they went to the home of one of the boys they found several assault riffles and handguns. Now, this story has tons of issues, but one that really stands out is the armory of weapons in the house.
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Yes! I understand — while I don’t agree — the idea for a gun as protection (or for a robbery if you’re a bad guy, I guess). But what is it with these gun nuts that they need an armory. The term “ammosexual” is spot on.
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Too melodramatic. I like the ploy though. Guns make a person more powerful… either to do harm or protect themselves. Yes there are both ends, but we’re only hearing about the tragic cases (which there are several). I’d like to hear about some of the positive examples where a gun scared away someone about to commit a crime or even was used in self defense and saved the owner’s life. Two sides of every story. (I have a lot of compassion towards all those Sandy Hook kids, though, completely!)
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The statistics show that a gun in the house is more likely to be used against someone in the family — accident, suicide or homicide. (I will get you the numbers later.
But if you want the positive, you are in the wrong place. I see nothing positive about a product with one purpose.
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Here’s an article for you — I’m going to update this post and put it in.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/pro-gun-myths-fact-check
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Cute ploy. Actors or not, the message is the same – and it is potent one. The truth of the matter is that any gun could be one that has killed before – the deadliness lies in the fact that it is a gun , not that it is a particular gun. NRA dipwads.
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Yes, exactly.
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That’s one way to target a message. I had a gun once, and always worried that some melodramatic member of my household would use it to make a melodramatic point. My peace of mind increased after getting rid of it. I even learned to enjoy the melodrama.
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It’s nuts.
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