The American Supreme Court has just ruled on the right to bear arms in America as outlined in its Constitution. The result? Handguns can again be owned. And what are the implications of this decision? The most violence-prone country in the world will now be even more awash with guns.
Of course the gun manufacturers are in seventh heaven. For them, the future has limitless possibilities. There will be ‘his and hers’ handguns, done in black and pink. Derringers for children with motifs of whales and butterflies surely will be popular.
But I would ask: why stop there? If citizens have the right to bear arms, why stop at mere assault rifles and handguns? I mean, they’re only for amateurs. Why not a line of state-of-the-art RPGs?
I mean, if you want to stop a burglar or rapist in his tracks surely an RPG in the midriff would daunt even the most determined criminal. Sure, it might destroy half your home but imagine the buzz you’ll get watching someone of another race disappear in a pink fog! And if you don’t like noise, then you could probably get a cheap flame-thrower like the ones they used in WW2.
And then, let’s go further. Why not a tank in your garage? Imagine the look of horror on the face of a burglar when you smash through the wall of your dining room with your Abrahams tank just as he’s putting your widescreen television in his sack. Imagine his or her surprise when you fire the main cannon! The neighbours will be agog with envy. Yeah, yeah.
Then, thinking outside the box, why not a F-16, one armed with nuclear missiles? I’m mean, if you want protection, why employ half-measures? Of course, putting a runway in your backyard might prove problematic but who’s going to argue with you? You could offer a neighborhood watch service, call yourself, "Topgun!"
Yes, those folk with their muzzle-loaders who drafted the American Constitution, they really knew a thing or two about setting up a properly functioning social and political system for the twenty-first century, didn’t they?
Surely it never occurred to them that guns and peace are mutually exclusive. Or did it?
Let the carnage begin!
I certainly can understand the weaker sex or righteous anti-government militia wanting to be heavily armed to protect themselves. It is very dangerous in the USA.
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I guess that allowing everyone to have multiple guns makes it even more dangerous, anti-neocon!
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David, I absolutely abhor guns, and the few times I’ve fired one in my life time,my hands still shake when I think about them.
No one should be allowed to have guns, with the exception of soldiers in time of war,and farmers to put some poor beast out of its misery.
However having said that,as we move towards the implosion of society,we may well all need one, to protect that last can of baked beans, hidden at the back of the cupboard, or buried in the garden for safe keeping.Only to be opened and consumed, when we get sick from eating radio active food.
Guns = Penis envy.
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The great disconnect in US culture is the rabid defense of the Second Amendment by the same group of idiots that support the criminals in Washington DC who strip away all the rest of the Bill of Rights.
What good is the right to bear arms when you have no other rights?
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Pill, the implosion of society will, in the near future, inevitably occur. We have, by encouraging greed, methodically built an unsustainable world, one that is not only difficult to change but one that those who are profiting from it will prevent from changing.
Dave, I watch America blundering its way towards a global warming or a militaristic Armageddon and I scratch my head. They just don’t get it!
Capitalism and Guns are not the answer.
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If only the US Government defended Human Rights as much as it does this right to bear arms, things would improve dramatically.
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The sad thing is that most Americans buy into this odd logic that if more people have guns, then criminal acts will be reduced because the would-be criminal doesn’t know who does & does not have a gun, therefore he will be less likely to commit a crime.
And yet, the reverse is true. Couple the ease of a device that can kill instantly with the immaturity and inability to cope with stress and anger, and you’ve got the messed up situation of the US.
And what disgusts me, an American, most of all is that there is no real “left” in this country– there are very very VERY little democrats that actually back gun control legislation, and even then it is of a very limited sort (Obama supported the Supreme Court’s decision BTW).
That is in fact one of the reasons I will be moving out of the country permanently– because there really is no “left” in the US– there are conservative in Europe more liberal than Obama or Clinton! But in the US, the “centre” has been pushed so far to the right that the left no longer exists in the US.
So I give up. Ultimately the problem is not merely political but cultural. I feel a lot more at home in New Zealand than the US.
This is a great blog, by the way– keep up the good work!
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Lucy, governments across the world are realizing that the fewer rights their citizens have the easier it is to manipulate them.
Ikiru, thanks for visiting and your kind comment. The move towards right-wing governments and attitudes seems to be affecting many countries. It’s a worry!
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