And thus it begins again. Just like the movie Groundhog Day, America suffers through another tragic mass shooting and the left pounces on the tragedy for political gain. And while they blame the tragedy on the lack of gun control, nary a peep about the number of people killed by guns in Chicago, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation.
It is amazing how people, on both sides of the political spectrum, like to cherry pick facts to meet their very specific narrative. But, on this political issue, the left far outperforms the other side on using non-facts to support what I believe to be a false solution for a very real problem.
Many on the left will make you believe that if we were to just perform better background checks and ban certain guns then these horrible shootings of innocent people will go away. But, that is a false proposition upon which to base their solution and if they were to be honest with themselves they would come to realize that the issue goes way beyond background checks and banning of certain guns.
I don't have a problem with passing a background check to get a gun -- I have passed several in the past. But when you start banning certain guns where do you stop -- how many bullets are too much? Is a semiautomatic .22 rifle with a 15 round capacity that you use for squirrel hunting a danger to the public? It could be but who makes that decision for the rest of us?
And, if that gun is banned then where does it end? But, the real question is how do you get back all of the millions of guns that are already out there? Some law-abiding owners may turn theirs in but do you really think that the "bad" guys are going to say "hey, here are all of my illegally obtained banned guns?"
The leftists do what they do so often -- they go after the symptom without ever addressing the underlying problem. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I thought I had simple intestinal problems that could be treated with over the counter medications. But, I had cancer that had to be treated in a very different way.
All of the Pepto-Bismol in the world would not have solved my problem and if I had tried, I might well be dead by now. I would have been treating the wrong problem because I focused on the symptom and not the cause.
In the current crisis (and it is a crisis) focusing on the gun and not the shooter will never solve the problem. I have yet to hear one -- not one -- liberal offer any real solution besides taking away the symptom.
Somewhere along the way society has quit valuing human life and has birthed the monsters who do not think twice about committing these heinous acts of violence. And, the reasons for this could fill multiple columns.
But the bottom line is, that until we stop blaming the symptom instead of finding the root problem then no amount of gun control in the world will stop the killings. If you don't believe me just ask the seven people killed and 46 wounded in Chicago last weekend.
Kevin Wilson is a former state representative who was born in Goodman and now lives in Neosho. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 08/29/2019