Saturday, February 28, 2009

Just got back....

From the LIONS gun show here in my little corner of "Land-of-the-Northern-Redneck," and boy was it crowded! Full disclosure: I do like guns. But I am not a member of the NRA, who I believe pedals paranoia to angry white guys. I am a gun owner who doesn't like a lot of other gun owners, and doesn't share their monomania about the 2nd Amendment, slippery slopes, torches and pitchforks.

When the US Supremes decided that there indeed was an individual right to bear arms over the D.C.handgun ban lawsuit), it was hailed by the trigger-happy right as validation for the false belief by many that there were no restrictions on gun ownership. The unintended consequence of the ruling, however, opens all gun ownership in the USA open to "reasonable restriction." Just as there are reasonable restrictions on our 1st Amendment (yelling "fire!" in a crowded theater, "fighting words..."), 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th Amendment rights, there are assumed to be reasonable restrictions on Amendment #2. The debate should be about what constitutes "reasonable." At the gun show, President Obama and HR 45 were the big topics of conversation, none of it complimentary, among the 99% white male patrons. So let the debate begin, eh?

Can anyone tell me why a vendor at a gun show thought it was necessary to wear a t-shirt that proclaimed of its wearer:

Christian
Heterosexual
Patriotic
American
?
I would have automatically assumed as much, given the venue.

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