*When the framers of the US Constitution placed a provision in this incredible document, stating that we have a right to bear arms, I don’t think that they were talking about assault rifles, semi-automatic weapons and lethal bombs! The real elephant in the room that no one wants to discuss is that the NRA (National Rifle Association) has tremendous political and financial muscle; to the point that even potential Presidential candidates are extremely hesitant to propose new gun control bills, less they place themselves in jeopardy of losing an election. What’s even more bizarre is that many Tea Party extremists and GOP right wingers back and support the NRA giving credence to this madness!
You may recall that not long ago the NAACP openly rebuked the Tea Party when they encouraged Americans to arm themselves with guns, if necessary to take back the government from an African -American president. It wasn’t long after this open rebuke that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and other noted officials and supporters were brutally gunned down in Arizona. When asked by Gifford’s father who he felt was to blame, his reply was, “EVERYONE IN THE TEA PARTY!”
Brothers and sisters, events like the senseless shooting of Trayvon Martin, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and now multiple persons in this horrific Colorado Massacre, is only the beginning of future unprecedented brutal massacres that are looming on the horizon. There have been 27 mass murders incidents since the 1999 Columbine shooting and given the unfortunate current political polarization of our country, as stated previously, there will be surely more of these horrific tragedies to follow.
Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York recently criticized President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, boldly stating that they need to stop making America flowery promises and be more proactive regarding gun control. We also sadly realize that Mitt Romney, being a card carrying member of the GOP will obviously side with the NRA, at least until he inevitably flip-flops in his predictable misguided zeal to pander and solicit more votes! We; however, sympathize and empathize with President Obama for two important reasons: the first being the irrefutable fact that no matter how he weighs in on gun control, the Obstructive GOP Right will twist, misrepresent, and blatantly distort any measure of truth and insight he offers on the issue. Secondly, we understand his reticence and reluctance in initiating strong dialogue about America’s psychotic and criminally insane love of assault firearms because he is seriously enmeshed and embroiled in the political fight of his life; winning a second presidency. But be warned President Obama! We are giving you a temporary pass until after you win re-election, then we expect to see leadership on this issue and results! But the reality is that after all the dead are eulogized and laid to rest and the other critically injured are released from local hospitals, things will go back to normal unless the American people demand that Congress put in place laws that specifically state the kinds of weapons people should and should not be allowed to own.
As an African-American Civil Rights Activist, I have recently seen billionaires and millionaires funnel untold millions into the GOP in what is will most likely to go down as the most expensive Presidential election in history. I would like to think that money provided to potential candidates would not influence our vote, but the sad reality is that many in our country are uninformed and completely oblivious to what is really going on. Countless bloggers like me have penned numerous essays, articles and commentaries that expose Right Wing hypocrisy and the NRA’s blatant misuse of power and disregard for human life (to line their pocketbooks and secretly pad their off-shore bank accounts with billions), but still Americans allow themselves to be brainwashed by repeated politically calculated advertisements.
The reality is that we didn’t learn from the 1999 Columbine Massacre and I doubt if we will learn from this either. Oh yes, there will be an outcry from the nation for a short while at least until the NRA and Right Wing Billionaires bombard us again with prejudicial campaign advertisements that make us believe that voting for their candidates is more important than preserving the lives our or children, friends and loved ones who lives and well-being may be in extreme jeopardy – just because they decided to go to see a popular movie at a Multiplex theatre.
By Terry Angel Mason, Global Author
www.terryangelmason.com
This article is spot on! The elephant in the room that no one wants to buck is the the NRA. This is just crazy. I wonder what exactly has to happen to make congress realize that there needs to be some changes just exactly how many dead bodies do they need? SMH
No rational person on either side of this issue can honestly say that the weapons used on Friday should have been in anyone’s hands. Unfortunately, money does seem to mean more than human lives. It is also unfortunate that the public has a very short attention span. We live in a society where Beyonce’s new hair or any other celebrity news takes front and center to things that we should be concerned about. We forget and ignore these issues until the next incident. Funny how Columbine occurred and yet the law banning certain types of gun was allowed to expire in 2004. There’s way too much money being paid to government officials and we as a society are too easily pacified.