16 February 2018 — 0953 mst

Pusillanimous politicians are not the prime nemesis of sensible firearms laws

Gunpowder crazed voters are. Convinced that their survival and self-respect depend on owning firearms that are weapons of war, weapons designed for killing and maiming people as rapidly and efficiently as possible, these voters have decided that mass shooting, while deplorable, are an acceptable price for being able to own AR-15 rifles and other military style weapons. These voters are the reason there’s cowardice in Congress. The militant extremists at the National Rifle Association are also factors, but the NRA would not wield the clout it does if so many voters weren’t so crazy in love with guns.

The Parkland murders will not provoke reform. As described in The Atlantic by James Fallows, we’ll wring our hands and wail — the ritual is well established — then wait for another mass murder committed by a lunatic armed with an AR-15. As a nation, we say we care, but we really don’t because we don’t act. At some point, perhaps, enough blood will be spilled, and enough brains will be splashed on the sidewalk, that our conscience is awakened and finally we melt all the AR-15s and their genre down to leg irons. But that day won’t break anytime soon. For now, as a nation, we choose to accept more spilled blood, and more splashed brains, because we think those are the colors of freedom.