Neo-Luddite
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Just for fun see how many half-truths, distortions and lies this editorial includes; more challenging than doing the 'blank' crossword puzzle!
Editorial
How Many More Warnings?
Published: February 11, 2008
Even with families victimized in the Virginia Tech massacre looking on, lawmakers in Virginia lined up like clay pigeons for the gun lobby last month to block legislation that would have closed the state’s notorious gun-show loophole. That means that anyone — ex-felons and deranged citizens included — can continue to buy firearms at laissez-faire “sportsmen” shows.
Go to The Board » The life-saving bill was supported by frontline police organizations, Gov. Tim Kaine and a majority of Virginians, still mourning the deadliest campus shooting in American history. That didn’t stop opponents from claiming that the problem had already been solved. It hasn’t.
In the wake of the massacre, Congress was finally shamed into passing legislation intended to improve national record-keeping and make it harder for people with a criminal history or a history of dangerous mental illness — like the Virginia Tech gunman — to purchase firearms from licensed gun dealers. Threat closed? No.
The lethal truth is that even if the troubled student had been denied by licensed dealers, he could have easily turned to the many unlicensed peddlers at weekend open-air shows, where gun worship trumps public safety, to buy his high-tech arsenal and ammunition. In one of America’s many earlier warnings, the killers responsible for the Columbine High School massacre did their shopping at Colorado gun shows.
The Virginia Legislature’s failure mocks all of the high-minded promises of closure uttered in the blood and grief after the tragedy. It again underlines the need for federal legislation to close gun-show loopholes. A bipartisan bill is already awaiting action, but the gun lobby never rests. The presidential candidates should show that they have more grit than Virginia’s lawmakers and demand an end to unlicensed gun shows, and demand that Congress show courage and sense of its own.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/opinion/11mon3.html?scp=1&sq=gun&st=nyt
Editorial
How Many More Warnings?
Published: February 11, 2008
Even with families victimized in the Virginia Tech massacre looking on, lawmakers in Virginia lined up like clay pigeons for the gun lobby last month to block legislation that would have closed the state’s notorious gun-show loophole. That means that anyone — ex-felons and deranged citizens included — can continue to buy firearms at laissez-faire “sportsmen” shows.
Go to The Board » The life-saving bill was supported by frontline police organizations, Gov. Tim Kaine and a majority of Virginians, still mourning the deadliest campus shooting in American history. That didn’t stop opponents from claiming that the problem had already been solved. It hasn’t.
In the wake of the massacre, Congress was finally shamed into passing legislation intended to improve national record-keeping and make it harder for people with a criminal history or a history of dangerous mental illness — like the Virginia Tech gunman — to purchase firearms from licensed gun dealers. Threat closed? No.
The lethal truth is that even if the troubled student had been denied by licensed dealers, he could have easily turned to the many unlicensed peddlers at weekend open-air shows, where gun worship trumps public safety, to buy his high-tech arsenal and ammunition. In one of America’s many earlier warnings, the killers responsible for the Columbine High School massacre did their shopping at Colorado gun shows.
The Virginia Legislature’s failure mocks all of the high-minded promises of closure uttered in the blood and grief after the tragedy. It again underlines the need for federal legislation to close gun-show loopholes. A bipartisan bill is already awaiting action, but the gun lobby never rests. The presidential candidates should show that they have more grit than Virginia’s lawmakers and demand an end to unlicensed gun shows, and demand that Congress show courage and sense of its own.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/opinion/11mon3.html?scp=1&sq=gun&st=nyt