Wednesday, April 06, 2005
"A good, common sense bill" - Gov. Jeb Bush
My home state is at it again. Once again, I'm forced to ask "What the hell is the matter with Florida?" This time, Gov. bush (I'll extend my lack of capitalization to him as well), with strong NRA and Republican legislative support, has passed the "Stand your ground act."
This act changes FL law so that it's no longer required that an individual try to escape before resorting to deadly force when threatened. Any licensed gun owner who is over 21 may shoot if he feels threatened. How is this remotely close to common sense?! Is Florida now on the frontier now? Does the Governor feel that guns are somehow the answer to settling any dispute? Just as a matter of fact, Miami is already one of the least safe cities in America. It boasts more that 2,500 murders per year (that statistic is several years old, so it's more that likely higher than that now). How does loosening gun laws possible begin to address this?
Stepping back a little bit, why does arming the population and saying that violence is no longer the last option qualify as common sense? Instead, it would seem to be radical vigilantism run amok. How does this possibly fit with a "culture of life?" Perhaps they mean that the culture of life only extends to those who can pay their medical bills (like Schiavo, versus Medicare / Medicaid recipients), or who are Christian evangelicals.
Lastly, why the hell hasn't the FBI started watching the NRA as a terrorist organization? How does arming the population and fighting restrictions of weapon sales to suspected terrorists on FBI watch lists not fall into the category of aiding and abetting?
This act changes FL law so that it's no longer required that an individual try to escape before resorting to deadly force when threatened. Any licensed gun owner who is over 21 may shoot if he feels threatened. How is this remotely close to common sense?! Is Florida now on the frontier now? Does the Governor feel that guns are somehow the answer to settling any dispute? Just as a matter of fact, Miami is already one of the least safe cities in America. It boasts more that 2,500 murders per year (that statistic is several years old, so it's more that likely higher than that now). How does loosening gun laws possible begin to address this?
Stepping back a little bit, why does arming the population and saying that violence is no longer the last option qualify as common sense? Instead, it would seem to be radical vigilantism run amok. How does this possibly fit with a "culture of life?" Perhaps they mean that the culture of life only extends to those who can pay their medical bills (like Schiavo, versus Medicare / Medicaid recipients), or who are Christian evangelicals.
Lastly, why the hell hasn't the FBI started watching the NRA as a terrorist organization? How does arming the population and fighting restrictions of weapon sales to suspected terrorists on FBI watch lists not fall into the category of aiding and abetting?
# posted by Will (Militant Liberal) @ 10:20 AM 
