Sunday, July 22, 2012

Colorado Theater Massacre

It's hard to imagine the horror that befell the families and loved ones of those killed at the Aurora Colorado theater. While my heart goes out to all the victims, that was my first reaction, today I find myself angry at the predictable response of politicians and the media. We have seen this ungodly scene play out before - many times to be exact - too many times if one is really counting. We have a massacre by some crazed lunatic and afterwards the tireless old debate over gun control starts coming from the usual suspects. Then before you can say don't turn that channel, the defenders of the "second amendment" come out of the closet in full force. Then before you know it, this sad tragic episode turns into another wasted opportunity to do something about the easy accessibility of firearms in this country. It becomes a political sideshow. Each side of the political spectrum will defend their respective ideology at the cost of common sense prevailing. Common sense says an assault rifle should never be sold under any circumstances to the public. The common good should outweigh any consideration of individual rights in this case. The fact this is debatable illustrates the level of detachment of what the majority wants and what the government actually delivers. The majority of people support banning and controlling the sale of firearms. The fact the NRA is a powerful lobby is the only reason Congress has failed to act on this issue in a serious way. And sadly, from what I see from this tragedy, nothing will change. The chattering class will soon move on to the next big story.