Rapid-fire emotions

Amy Goodman is all over the map with emotional talking points in her Jan. 21 gun control column. There’s the appeal for “common sense gun laws,” the need to control “personal weapons of mass destruction,” and, of course, the obligatory reference to the media’s favorite term, “assault weapons.” (Please define “assault weapon,” Amy.)

Into this mix she adds the laughable new accusation that U.S. firearms dealers are somehow responsible for drug violence in Mexico. While it’s convenient for Mexican President Calderon to lay blame for the deaths within his failed narco-state elsewhere, this specious claim has already been discredited by our own Justice Department. Reality check: Drug cartels are armed with real machine guns, grenade launchers and RPGs, none of which is sold at U.S. retail stores.

But my favorite claim is that a magazine ban will “reduce their use and ultimately save lives.”

Where’s the evidence? That’s like saying we’d have fewer drunken-driving deaths if beer was sold in smaller bottles, or fewer accidents in general if automobile gas tanks were smaller. Perhaps in your world, Amy, “new gun laws could save lives.” Let me know when you figure out how to compel the criminals to obey them.

J.M. Lyons

Spokane