The Body Count Is Rising; Do Something Besides Talk

Sat., Aug. 8, 1998

Jeff Lavagetto Special To Opinion

Enough! I can’t sit here and watch the continuing gun debate without weighing in myself.

First, let me tell you a little bit about who I am. I’m former military. I was a fire arms instructor/range master for three years. I’m not some leftist, pacifist, pinko tree-hugger. Heck, considering the comments that are about to follow, the real shocker is this: I own an assault rifle! Honest to God.

Anyway, I watch the gun debate and wonder what the heck some people are thinking. Every time there’s an act of bloodshed, somebody asks, “Do we really need all these guns?” Then the outcry that follows is so knee-jerk predictable: “It’s my God-given right to keep and bear arms! It says so in the Constitution!” End of discussion.

It’s all about the need to protect our fundamental freedoms, right? You gotta be ready to fight for it, don’t you? But whom are you going to fight and how are you going to fight THEM? When do we dig out the AK-47 and go to war?

Will it be when the blue-helmeted U.N. troops of the One World Order descend in legions in black helicopters? Or will it be the government itself we’ll be called on to fight? That’s what the Second Amendment was really all about. Yeah! We gotta be armed in case those cheeseheads in D.C. decide to declare themselves Kings for Life. That’s what the founding fathers were really thinking about. Checks and balances. The Beltway Boys would never dare try any funny business so long as every mother’s son has a little arsenal stashed in the basement!

And while we’re waiting for the war against THEM, the carnage we’re living in is worth it, right? Sure! Just because our children are slaughtering our children in gun battles on the playground, just because it’s no longer safe to head down for a six pack unless you’re toting that AK-47 to maintain parity with every doped-up street punk, that’s a small price.

Oh I forgot. It’s a right and you can’t tinker with it. But let’s use some common sense. We license professionals and drivers. We license dogs, for heaven’s sake! Is it so outlandish to require a license for something designed to take a human life? Is it farfetched to require a little training? To be a little responsible for a deadly weapon?

For the love of God, let’s not just yell slogans and dogma at each other. The body count is rising too high while we build walls that shield us from the debate.

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