A few days ago I was at the gym pumping away on the elliptical and watching CNN news on one of the TV screens suspended from the ceiling.
Of course all the news was terrible and depressing: Fear and grief in Paris and Beirut, suffering in Syria and Iraq, ISIS, terrorism, ruined countries, fleeing refugees.
Then there was a national report on how in our country persons on the FBI's Terrorism Watchlist are nonetheless permitted to buy guns.
Suspected terrorists are allowed to buy guns?!
I didn't know that. Did you know that?
Is everybody all right with that?
Is everybody comfortable with that?
Am I the only one who thinks that's crazy?
Apparently not, as there's now a proposal floating around Congress to ban persons on the The FBI's Terrorism Watchlist from buying guns in the U.S. And, according to the CNN report, half of the candidates running for president are against it, as, according to an article in the Huffington Post, are Congressional Republicans generally.
"I am a big supporter of the Second Amendment," said Ben Carson, "and I don't want to deprive people unnecessarily of that". This from the famed pediatric neurosurgeon who once had to extract a bullet from a 3-year-old's brain. Of course, being so adept at removing bullets from tiny brains, Dr. Carson may not see a bullet in a child's brain as quite the troubling scenario as us non-brain surgeons do. He does, however, worry that innocent people might have have been put on the terrorist suspect list who don't deserve to be on the list and "they've been trying to get their names off of it, and no one will give them information."
And in the meantime they should be allowed to buy guns.
Also, according to the CNN report, there's the rationale being put forward by those against banning persons with terrorist associations from buying guns that, if prevented from buying guns legally, said persons will get them anyway, illegally.
So we should just keep the process easier for them?
So much compassion for suspected terrorists, so little for the suffering Syrian refugees.
I have an idea: How about if we ban the sale of guns to people associated with terrorist groups and welcome the refugees fleeing ISIS but, if it will satisfy the opponents, ban the refugees from buying guns, too.
Maybe the opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should be enough.
References:
1. "Republicans Split On Guns For Terror Watch List",Eric Bradner, CNN, Updated 5:48 PM ET, Sun November 22, 2015.
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/guns-terror-watch-list_564fec70e4b0258edb31b652
3. http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/04/24/178668578/people-on-terror-watch-list-not-blocked-from-buying-guns
Of course all the news was terrible and depressing: Fear and grief in Paris and Beirut, suffering in Syria and Iraq, ISIS, terrorism, ruined countries, fleeing refugees.
Then there was a national report on how in our country persons on the FBI's Terrorism Watchlist are nonetheless permitted to buy guns.
Suspected terrorists are allowed to buy guns?!
I didn't know that. Did you know that?
Is everybody all right with that?
Is everybody comfortable with that?
Am I the only one who thinks that's crazy?
Apparently not, as there's now a proposal floating around Congress to ban persons on the The FBI's Terrorism Watchlist from buying guns in the U.S. And, according to the CNN report, half of the candidates running for president are against it, as, according to an article in the Huffington Post, are Congressional Republicans generally.
"I am a big supporter of the Second Amendment," said Ben Carson, "and I don't want to deprive people unnecessarily of that". This from the famed pediatric neurosurgeon who once had to extract a bullet from a 3-year-old's brain. Of course, being so adept at removing bullets from tiny brains, Dr. Carson may not see a bullet in a child's brain as quite the troubling scenario as us non-brain surgeons do. He does, however, worry that innocent people might have have been put on the terrorist suspect list who don't deserve to be on the list and "they've been trying to get their names off of it, and no one will give them information."
And in the meantime they should be allowed to buy guns.
Also, according to the CNN report, there's the rationale being put forward by those against banning persons with terrorist associations from buying guns that, if prevented from buying guns legally, said persons will get them anyway, illegally.
So we should just keep the process easier for them?
So much compassion for suspected terrorists, so little for the suffering Syrian refugees.
I have an idea: How about if we ban the sale of guns to people associated with terrorist groups and welcome the refugees fleeing ISIS but, if it will satisfy the opponents, ban the refugees from buying guns, too.
Maybe the opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should be enough.
References:
1. "Republicans Split On Guns For Terror Watch List",Eric Bradner, CNN, Updated 5:48 PM ET, Sun November 22, 2015.
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/guns-terror-watch-list_564fec70e4b0258edb31b652
3. http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/04/24/178668578/people-on-terror-watch-list-not-blocked-from-buying-guns
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