IT'S THE BULLETS!!

August 24, 2016 

At the meeting hosted by Representative Adam Schiff at the auditorium at the LA Zoo on Monday night regarding moves to curb gun violence, I listened intently as the three panelists, Rick Zbur of Equality California, actor/activist Jason George and Loren Lieb of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence  basically preached to the choir regarding how to find ways to discuss the issue with those who may fear restrictions on guns, guns, guns..  

The word "Guns" was used about 200 times before I lost count. Never one time was the word "bullet" uttered, though Ms Lieb, who had a personal connection to an attack by a crazy person with an automatic weapon, did use the term "ammunition" one time.

I tried like anything to insert the word 'bullet' into the mix, but Mr. Schiff ignored me.  And, the time for questions from the approximately one hundred, mostly over thirty or forty members of the audience was short, especially with lengthy responses from the panel.

An interesting thing that Mr. Schiff mentioned was an answer to the question he posed to a fellow Democrat from Oklahoma about the Second Amendment that has to do with a well regulated militia having the right to bear arms.  The Oklahoman said his constituents responded by saying  "Lexington and Concord!"  Of course, my comment on that would have been, "The American Revolution was fought with muskets!"  Had the founders imagined that technology would advance to the automatic weapons we have today, they probably would have expanded their definition of a 'well regulated militia'  and what 'arms' really means.

My contention will always be that anyone can have a gun. Especially a musket!  The ammunition, of course, is what makes the musket as well as the AK47 deadly.  Regulate and track the ammo as well as the guns!

So!  Regulating bullets and taxing the heck out of them is one way to begin to reduce the viloence.  Tobacco and Alcohol are both well regulated and taxed.  Why not the Firearms, ammunition and Explosives, too?

Of course, it's not that simple, but as the panelists iterated again and again, a calm and sincere dialogue is a way to at least get started.  I believe that discussing both guns AND ammunition should be what that discussion is about. 

August 24, 2016

michaelsheehan