{"id":2213,"date":"2019-08-22T08:03:43","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T12:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=2213"},"modified":"2019-08-22T08:03:49","modified_gmt":"2019-08-22T12:03:49","slug":"whos-your-daddy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/08\/22\/whos-your-daddy\/","title":{"rendered":"Who’s Your Daddy?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Note:  for the purpose of this essay, I am not going to get into the AR-15, AK-47 semi-automatic weapon technicalities.  We can all agree on one thing \u2013 that these weapons were originally designed for fighting wars, to rapidly inflict grievous injuries and death on the enemy. So call them what they are:  weapons of war.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weapons of War<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was Saturday, August 3rd<\/sup>, 2019, less than three weeks ago.  That morning a shooter walked into a Wal-Mart in El Paso armed with a \u201cweapon of war\u201d and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.  He killed 22 people, and wounded 24 more.   In the evening, another, unconnected shooter went into the \u201cOregon District\u201d of Dayton, Ohio, the local party area.  He too was armed with a \u201cweapon of war\u201d with a 100 round capacity magazine attached.  Police shot him dead 32 seconds after he fired the first shot, but he managed to kill nine people, including his own sister, and wound 27 others.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday morning the nation was in shock:  dozens dead, and even more wounded, and everyone looking over their shoulder.  If Wal-Mart and public streets, well patrolled by the police weren\u2019t safe, then what places were?  America needed to address the problem, a problem that is unique to us in the \u201cdeveloped\u201d world:  mass shootings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Moment for Change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On that Sunday, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, seemed to be looking for ways to solve the problem.  The obvious answer, used by \u201cdeveloped\u201d countries throughout the world, is to ban \u201cweapons of war\u201d from public ownership.  But the President\u2019s Party, Base, and finances are tied to support of \u201cguns:\u201d even discussing control of those weapons wasn\u2019t politically feasible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the House of Representatives had already passed a bill that would require universal background checks on anyone purchasing a gun.  While checks are \u201caround\u201d today, there are multiple ways to avoid the requirements. The House bill would close many of those loopholes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Rifle Association is the premier gun \u201crights\u201d organization in the United States.  Before 1991, the NRA was a gun safety organization. As a Boy Scout back in the 1960\u2019s, I learned to shoot rifles in the NRA safety program.  I imagine I had an NRA card at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the NRA ain\u2019t what it used to be.  Today, it is the premier lobbying group in the United States, using their money, and more importantly the influence they have among the millions of members, to control politicians.  It is now associated with more than just gun rights, supporting a host of other right-wing causes. And they support the current President, Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking Points<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The NRA has lots of slogans supporting their views.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n