Why do Republicans think that gunfights are like something out of the movies?
We cats have never even gotten near a gun, which probably accounts for at least eight of our nine long lives. Our philosophy? Steer clear, stay safe. But as America's never-ending mass shootings, countless gang killings and umpteen family murders have shown, sometimes you get close to a weapon even when you don't want to be. 'Cuz somebody sticks it in your face.
Yet despite our total inexperience, we know damn well that faced with a James Holmes or an Adam Lanza or a Chris Harper Mercer, nobody's suddenly going to turn into John Wayne and drop the bad guy in his tracks.
Which means that idiot pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson's idea that kindergarten teachers should have guns in class is ridiculous. Even crazier is his suggestion that the victims at Umpqua Community College in Oregon are somehow to blame for allowing this Harper Mercer guy to shoot them. It's not only an insult to grieving families, it's dumb.
How would all this fighting back that Carson recommends work, exactly? Would kindergarten teachers wear their firearms? No, Carson said, they should be locked in a desk drawer. So, if a gunman bursts into a classroom and starts firing, then.... does the teacher have time to unlock the drawer, load her weapon, and fire back? Um, no. Ben has clearly seen way too many celluloid shootouts and has confused them with reality. We hope he didn't watch too many doctor shows on TV before operating.
Same deal with the Umpqua victims whom Carson has so blithely slandered. But get this: Turns out that Oregon is one of the many states that allows concealed-carry, so the professor and students whom Harper Mercer attacked would have been legally permitted to pack heat to class. Nevertheless, they're all dead. As Sarah Palin would say, how's that CCW law workin' for ya?
Long story short, putting more guns in the hands of civilians is no solution. Making them harder to buy without background checks is. And it would be really nice if Republicans would stop their adolescent fantasies, and quit maligning the murdered and the bereaved. We're talking to you, too, Bobby Jindal. We cats HISS.
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