“Mommy, why are those men in aluminum suits running around pushing wheelbarrows?”
“They’re our friends from the NRA, honey. They have to hurry to the offices of the Congressmen they own. The wheelbarrows are full of cash for the Congressmen. The cash serves as a reminder of where their loyalties should be.”
“And where is that, Momma?”
“With the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, honey child. The one that guarantees everyone’s right to own as many guns as they wish.”
“Everyone? Could I have guns, Momma?”
“Of course, honey child. It’s your right as an American.”
“But I’m only seven years old . . .”
“Never mind. If they restricted your right to own guns, just because you’re seven years old, the next step would be to restrict everyone’s right to own guns. Give ‘em an inch and they’ll take a mile.”
"Does the NRA take its wheelbarrows to Congress every day, Momma?”
“Not exactly every day, honey child dear. Today it’s important to do so because the bad people who would take away our guns will be all over TV talking about taking away our guns.”
“Why would they want to take away our guns?”
“Because there was an unfortunate bit of business yesterday in Oregon.”
“What kind of business?”
“Some person who is NOT representative of all the millions of responsible gun-owners in the USA went into a school and did some shooting.”
“Did this irresponsible, probably deranged person who is NOT representative of the millions of legitimate gun owners in the USA . . . did this bad person hurt anyone?”
“Sort of. Nine people were killed and a few more injured. We are sorry this happened, but it sometimes does happen because there is a bad guy with guns and not enough good guys with guns at that particular spot. Good guys with guns prevent bad guys with guns from doing harm to people. But the people who would take away our guns have imposed so many silly restrictions on getting guns that sometimes there aren’t enough good guys with guns to go around. So then a bad guy with a gun is sometimes able to hurt people before the good guys with guns can kill him.”
“I want to be a good guy with guns, Momma.”
“Of course you do, sweet honey boy. There’s a gun show in town. We’ll go over there right now and shop for a nice, boy-sized semi-automatic.”
“Can I have a cowboy six-shooter, too?”
“Of course you can. This is the NRA’s USA! We’ll put one on lay-away until you’re old enough to lift it.”
“Oh, boy. I am one lucky little gun-owning kid. God Bless America.”
"How about we treat every young man who wants to buy a gun like every woman who wants to get an abortion — mandatory 48-hr waiting period, parental permission, a note from his doctor proving he understands what he's about to do, a video he has to watch about the effects of gun violence, an ultrasound wand up the ass (just because). Let's close down all but one gun shop in every state and make him travel hundreds of miles, take time off work, and stay overnight in a strange town to get a gun. Make him walk through a gauntlet of people holding photos of loved ones who were shot to death, people who call him a murderer and beg him not to buy a gun.
ReplyDeleteIt makes more sense to do this with young men and guns than with women and health care, right? I mean, no woman getting an abortion has killed a room full of people in seconds, right?"