Polite (A Poem)

(This cartoon image is by Jim Morin in The Miami Herald.)

The following is a poem by my friend Brian McLaughlin.

a polite society

violence on the rise

the more we are armed

more meet their demise

they want open carry

claim it's a right

what it really does

is bring the public more fright

how can we tell

if they're a good guy or bad

more death on the streets

more families grow sad

but we're told

it ain't the guns

it's just fools

havin' fun

then they fight regulation

that the constitution has called for

making the streets that more dangerous

and blood runs up the score

but it's really not about guns

it is stupid people

and there's no cure for stupid

when the NRA is their steeple

"Open Carry" Is A Stupid And Dangerous Idea (And Law)

We now have a new tragedy. This one happened in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When police responded to a call about a person openly carrying an assault weapon, they walked into a trap -- and several of them were killed.

The crazy part of this is that Louisiana (like many other states) is an "open carry" state -- where anyone can walk down the street carrying any kind of weapon. In other words, what was reported to the police was NOT a violation of Louisiana law. But police have to check out all of these calls anyway, because there is no way for a citizen (or police officer) to know just by looking whether the person is a "good guy with a gun" or a "bad guy with a gun".

This has created more work for police officers, and it has made their job more dangerous. It also makes our society more dangerous for its citizens. If you are in a store or restaurant, and a person enters openly carrying an assault rifle (or any firearm), you have only seconds to figure out whether they are just being a jerk or they are there to kill people -- and making that decision is almost impossible until the shooting starts (and then its too late).

Gun nuts will tell us that it's their Second Amendment right to openly carry a firearm. That is NOT true. It is their right to own a firearm (unless they are a convicted felon), but the Supreme Court has never ruled they have the right to openly carry that firearm. In fact, just the opposite is true. The court has ruled that reasonable restrictions on the ownership and carrying of firearms is NOT a violation of the Second Amendment -- and banning the open carry of firearms is imminently reasonable.

Allowing citizens to openly carry firearms was a stupid and dangerous idea, and the laws permitting it should immediately be overturned. Protecting the safety of people (and police officers) is far more important than protecting the mythical "right" to openly carry a weapon.

Open-Carry Of Guns In Public Is Bad Idea & Needs To Stop

We have all seen the photos of people openly carrying guns, especially assault rifles, into discount stores, supermarkets, and restaurants. These people think they are helping their cause (allowing the open-carry of firearms in public), but all they are really doing is frightening people and actually hurting their cause. The NRA may approve of these silly actions, but the American people do not.

The charts above (and below) are from a new survey by the YouGov Poll. It was done between June 6th and 9th of a random national sample of about 1,000 adults, and has a margin of error of about 4 points. It shows that disapproval of open-carry is 15 points higher than its approval. In addition, 64% say they are frightened when they see someone carry an assault rifle into a store, and 75% say doing so only hurts the cause of the open-carry proponents.

The nuts that carry assault rifles into stores are trying to tell us that it's their Second Amendment right to do so. That's nonsense. The Second Amendment gives law-abiding citizens the right to own a firearm. It does not give them the right to frighten or intimidate their fellow citizens by marching down the street with an assault rifle. And don't try to tell me it's for self-defense either. That's what handguns and concealed-carry permits are for.

Actually the public is being fairly generous with open-carry. The 38% who approve of it far outnumbers the percentage of people who actually own a firearm (or feel the need to do so). Only about 22% of individuals in this country own a gun, and if you consider households instead of individuals, the number only rises to about 33%. And that 33% is probably accurate since a recent General Social Survey came up with that same percentage (saying it was between 32% and 34%).

The American people are trying to give gun owners some leeway. It is time the gun owners reciprocated. They should stop carrying their assault weapons in public. And they should also stop their opposition to closing the loopholes in the background check law. It makes no sense to defend the right of criminals and other dangerous people to have easy access to a gun (and that's what opposition to closing those loopholes does). No law-abiding citizen is threatened by closing those loopholes, and it should be done.