This was in my papers opinion page following an add last weekend, please take the time to read this contractictory piece he wrote, and feel free to share your opinions with him (contact on bottom) thanks.
Do Guns Belong On Holiday List?
Frank Harris III November 30, 2007 Guns don't shoot by themselves — this I know.
Invariably, there is some finger attached to a hand attached to an arm attached to a body and within it a beating heart and a human mind — whether sober or sane, crazed or in pain — that leads to the big boom, crack or bang that sends a bullet or two or three or more hurtling toward the target.
Sometimes it is justified; sometimes not.
Whatever the circumstance, I was stunned to see the gun advertisement on the back cover of an insert in a New Haven newspaper. On the front cover were the words "holiday gift guide" featuring pictures of DVDs, CDs, toys and apparel.
On that back cover, however, was a full-page ad for handguns, complete with list price, sale price and "4 high capacity magazines PLUS $50 cash back with (a) mail-in rebate."
Topping it off was the illustration of a gunslinger sporting a Western hat with two pistols in his hands. But lest we worry, there were these comforting words just above the name of the gun center that placed this festive ad: "Guns for the Good Guys."
Ah, that makes me feel good. Only the good guys will get these guns.
But good guys are not good all the time. And even if they were, there are those bad guys who wind up with the good guys' guns in their hands through thievery or a cold, hard transaction. (Because good guys like money, too — even if the money comes from bad hands).
In any case, I suppose gun dealers have to earn a living, too. And such guns are not illegal. And the Second Amendment grants Americans the right to bear arms — and not just as a militia to protect the nation's freedom.
The market for guns is certainly out there in this nation of ours, if not to protect our freedom, then to protect our lives and possessions.
According to a Gallup survey conducted in early October 2007, 42 percent of Americans have guns in their homes. That means more than half of Americans are gun-free. But with all the news of violence taking place, the fear factor certainly kicks in — even if the news reports on violence might exceed the actual violence taking place.
Still, with all the perceived violence, 68 percent of Americans surveyed said there should not be a ban on handguns that would limit guns solely to law enforcement and other authorized persons.
Maybe that is because, according to an ABC News poll conducted earlier this year, half of all Americans do not believe stricter handgun laws would lead to a reduction in violence.
Most Americans in that same ABC poll said the primary cause of gun violence is not the proliferation of guns, but rather popular culture and the way families raise their children. Certainly, there is some merit to these positions.
Yes, if only we could stop all those video games, movies, and violent song lyrics and get non-parenting parents to start parenting — we could end this mess without a shot being fired.
So if I could chat with Santa, I'd ask him to have a sit-down with his elves about making all those violence-promoting video games, movies and violent song lyrics. And send a note to those parents too about responsibility.
But at the risk of folks calling me Frankie Grinch or the Gun Scrooge of Christmas, I can't leave out the guns.
Certainly I don't think a gun ad in a family newspaper is what the world needs this holiday season in a nation where, according to the National Education Association's Health Information Network, American children are more at risk from gun violence than children in any other industrialized nation.
Certainly Americans don't need a gun in every stocking when, according to the Centers for Disease control, homicide and suicide are the leading causes of teen deaths, with 80 percent of these deaths resulting from guns.
So if I could pull Santa's beard — without the fear that he's packing heat in his bag — I'd tell him guns are too heavy for the holiday stockings.
Frank Harris III is chairman of the journalism department at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. His column appears every other Friday. He can be reached at [email protected].
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-harris1130.artnov30,0,772941.column
Do Guns Belong On Holiday List?
Frank Harris III November 30, 2007 Guns don't shoot by themselves — this I know.
Invariably, there is some finger attached to a hand attached to an arm attached to a body and within it a beating heart and a human mind — whether sober or sane, crazed or in pain — that leads to the big boom, crack or bang that sends a bullet or two or three or more hurtling toward the target.
Sometimes it is justified; sometimes not.
Whatever the circumstance, I was stunned to see the gun advertisement on the back cover of an insert in a New Haven newspaper. On the front cover were the words "holiday gift guide" featuring pictures of DVDs, CDs, toys and apparel.
On that back cover, however, was a full-page ad for handguns, complete with list price, sale price and "4 high capacity magazines PLUS $50 cash back with (a) mail-in rebate."
Topping it off was the illustration of a gunslinger sporting a Western hat with two pistols in his hands. But lest we worry, there were these comforting words just above the name of the gun center that placed this festive ad: "Guns for the Good Guys."
Ah, that makes me feel good. Only the good guys will get these guns.
But good guys are not good all the time. And even if they were, there are those bad guys who wind up with the good guys' guns in their hands through thievery or a cold, hard transaction. (Because good guys like money, too — even if the money comes from bad hands).
In any case, I suppose gun dealers have to earn a living, too. And such guns are not illegal. And the Second Amendment grants Americans the right to bear arms — and not just as a militia to protect the nation's freedom.
The market for guns is certainly out there in this nation of ours, if not to protect our freedom, then to protect our lives and possessions.
According to a Gallup survey conducted in early October 2007, 42 percent of Americans have guns in their homes. That means more than half of Americans are gun-free. But with all the news of violence taking place, the fear factor certainly kicks in — even if the news reports on violence might exceed the actual violence taking place.
Still, with all the perceived violence, 68 percent of Americans surveyed said there should not be a ban on handguns that would limit guns solely to law enforcement and other authorized persons.
Maybe that is because, according to an ABC News poll conducted earlier this year, half of all Americans do not believe stricter handgun laws would lead to a reduction in violence.
Most Americans in that same ABC poll said the primary cause of gun violence is not the proliferation of guns, but rather popular culture and the way families raise their children. Certainly, there is some merit to these positions.
Yes, if only we could stop all those video games, movies, and violent song lyrics and get non-parenting parents to start parenting — we could end this mess without a shot being fired.
So if I could chat with Santa, I'd ask him to have a sit-down with his elves about making all those violence-promoting video games, movies and violent song lyrics. And send a note to those parents too about responsibility.
But at the risk of folks calling me Frankie Grinch or the Gun Scrooge of Christmas, I can't leave out the guns.
Certainly I don't think a gun ad in a family newspaper is what the world needs this holiday season in a nation where, according to the National Education Association's Health Information Network, American children are more at risk from gun violence than children in any other industrialized nation.
Certainly Americans don't need a gun in every stocking when, according to the Centers for Disease control, homicide and suicide are the leading causes of teen deaths, with 80 percent of these deaths resulting from guns.
So if I could pull Santa's beard — without the fear that he's packing heat in his bag — I'd tell him guns are too heavy for the holiday stockings.
Frank Harris III is chairman of the journalism department at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. His column appears every other Friday. He can be reached at [email protected].
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-harris1130.artnov30,0,772941.column
