What will it take, gun nuts?
What needs to happen for you to finally step back and say, “Hey, is there something that can be done to prevent things like this from happening so damn much?”
Chris Kyle was shot to death while at a gun range. The Pentagon said his skills with a rifle so terrorized Iraqi insurgents during his four tours of duty that they nicknamed him the “Devil of Ramadi” and put a bounty on his head. He was an ex-Navy SEAL, had over 150 confirmed kills, saved countless American lives during his service, and was generally regarded as an all around bad ass. Two silver stars, five bronze stars, and one of the deadliest assassins ever to serve our country.
Killed a guy from 2,100 yards? Confirmed bad ass.
Now he’s dead.
I took some flak on my Facebook page for “politicizing” Kyle’s death. Teapublicans and gun nuts have been making the argument that “gun-free” zones are the problem. “You never hear about someone getting killed at a gun range, do ya? Criminals won’t try that stuff there because they know everyone has a gun!” You don’t get to be pissed off that your argument can easily be rebutted by one dead Navy SEAL at a gun range. Sorry, that’s not how this works, and if you are upset about this “good guy with a gun” getting killed while he had a gun, his friend had a gun, and several other “good guys” had guns nearby – Maybe you should address the rhetoric instead of being upset at ME for calling out the obvious flaw in your position.
Does anyone want to ask the tough questions now? Why was a guy with PTSD and obvious mental health issues given a gun? How could this have been avoided? What can be done to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future? Can we expand health care to treat our veterans more effectively, dealing with the glaring problems that come with prolonged, multiple deployments in a combat zone? Should mental health records be more easily accessible and a part of comprehensive background checks?
Are you upset that Chris Kyle was gunned down? Good.
What can we do to stop it from happening again?
Read more at SpiffySean.com
–Sean Kemmerer is a freelance writer, administrator of Politics Without The Crazy Pills, can be followed @Walkofshameband, and wonders why we let our good guys with guns get murdered.
