Some Arguments I’m Really Tired of Hearing

Someone’s paying those marchers – if that were true, I know a lot of people who are still waiting for their checks. The survivors of the Parkland massacre are tough, sharp kids who have had enough. They have been well-trained by their school for leadership positions. It’s just that nobody thought this was the direction that leadership would take. They are nobody’s tools and nobody’s fools. And yes, they had help-because they knew how to use the system, to start a Go Fund Me campaign, to publicize their movement, enlist others. Give them credit, and for God’s sake, stop the personal attacks.

Guns don’t kill; people do. If people didn’t have access to rapid-fire weapons with bullets that can dissolve organs and bones, they would not be able to kill at the rate that mass shootings have established. People shoot the guns but the guns do the killing. Something like 3400 school children since Columbine. Appalled? I am.

The Second Amendment protects my right to own a gun: As legal scholars and past members of the Supreme Court have said, that’s a gross misinterpretation. When the second amendment was written, guns were single-shot, muzzle loading weapons. Our Founding Fathers could never have imagined the weapons of today. But the key is the wording, a “well-regulated militia.” That meant a militia with training sessions, an order of leadership, practices, etc. Want that in your life? Enlist in the armed services or join the National Guard. It clearly does not mean a lot of people running loose with guns in their hands.

I need my guns for protection. From what? You fear a military takeover? What chance would you have against military forces? You want to shoot an intruder? Do you know the statistics of deaths to a family member, particularly children, when there are guns in the house? They go up astronomically.

Nobody’s going to take my guns. I got my rights. Nobody is coming for all your guns. This movement is about sane but strict regulations. Hunters should certainly keep their guns (but you really don’t need an AR-15, even for wild hogs.) And within limits citizens should have them for protection. But we need much better laws, and we need to enforce them.

Thanks for listening to the rant. Now, on a lighter note, you know what life is like when the high point of the day is having your passport photo taken. Regulations—and costs—are much stricter these days. My passport expired last year, which means I got it in 2007. If I recall I paid $60 for it. Today, it’s $189 plus you must have it in hand six months before your return date, and it takes six to eight months to process, which means Jordan and I paid an extra fee to something called RushMyPassport.

For the picture, you must not smile, you must not cover your ears with your hair (Jordan had to take off her earrings). The resulting picture is what you expected—pretty grim. All this in preparation for our Great Lakes Cruise next fall—we fly into Toronto and leave from there, but you need a passport these days to go to Canada.

What a world we live in!