Well, I hadn't planed on posting something so soon, after the exhausting, month-long "A-Z Challenge." But as this long-time journalist knows, things happen when they happen. And if you don't report them, the "news" becomes "olds." It's a process that can actually happen pretty quickly.
So, your faithful scribe is on the job, and has the "news."
I have a wonderful friend, bless her heart, who is both smart and sassy. (Actually, I have a whole lot of them; their blogs are on my boggers block, entitled, "Other Thoughts that Bear Noting.")
On this friend's sidebar, she has a note that "84,999,989 Firearms owners killed no one yesterday." Which may be true.
However, one did. The five-year-old in Kentucky killed his two-year-old sister. He used a gun he was given last year.
Now some might say, "Well, it was only one death." But, in another life-or-death matter, would they also say, "Well, it was only one abortion"?
These are the kinds of things that keep your faithful reporter-Bear awake at night, friends.
Blessings and Bear hugs, everyone!
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
38 comments:
So glad you've dropped by the Bear's den. Please leave a note -- getting notes is such fun, and often informative. I'll get back to you, here or by e-mail, as soon as I can (or, if it's winter, after I wake up). 'Til then, please Bear with me.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN AWARD-FREE AND MEME-FREE SITE. While I'm honoured to receive awards, I find they take way too much energy in completing. Thanks, but no, thanks.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
These are the kinds of things that keep me awake at night too. All those babies...all those poor little babies that never get to bless us with their presence....so sad about the family you mention. My heart goes out to them with lots of prayers. Thank you for sharing my blog on your site. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, M.J.
DeleteThe point is, I think we should be equally offended by both. Why are not people protesting in front of the office of the National Rifle Association, or every gun-manufacturing plant, every time someone is killed with a gun? If people can protest outside abortion clinics, they could or should protest at the gun-makers and gun proponents. Death is death; we need to hold the people responsible who are responsible for the deaths.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
Guns don't kill people, Rob. People do. In the case of the story you share, parents didn't take enough precautions. When little ones are around, people need to baby proof their homes.
DeleteAbortion is different. These innocent lives are being snuffed out, not because people are careless or stupid. They're being killed because people can kill them. People want to kill them. And people go to great lengths to kill them.
Accidents happen. People die in those accidents. Yes, we should do everything we can to prevent those accidents, except remove our rights as human beings. No one is shouting to ban cars because people get into car accidents, so why are people so adamant that we should out-law guns?
Guns are weapons, just like knives, ropes and airplanes (think 9/11). People cause death, not the tools they use. People choose to kill, not the inanimate objects they deem necessary to carry out their plans, or the people who make and sell those objects.
You're absolutely right. "We need to hold the people responsible who are responsible for the deaths."
I heard about that. It's just so sad.
ReplyDeleteSad it is, indeed. Which again raises the question of whether guns are safe in the hands of everyone. Here in Canada, you have to take a gun safety course and have a very extensive background check in order to legally own a gun. And guns have to be locked up when not in use. I think those kind of rules would have prevented this death.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
That poor kid his life is changed forever and not necessarily for the better (but who knows?)One of my older sibs accidentally shot a friend when they were playing with his dad's gun. He was never the same. I can't imagine you could be? So now I must ask(just checked your Z blog) if you didnt get my last comment or should I be worried that I said something inappropriate or should I be insulted?
ReplyDeleteToo bad we could not have spare your older sib, and the lad in Kentucky, the problems. In Canada, you need a permit for a gun (with a background check), and have to store it safely when not it's not in use. A little gun safety goes a long way.
DeleteThanks Zoe.
As to your comment, I got a bit behind in reviewing comments. Though it is important to remember that offence is what you build to separate your property from your neighbour's, and I'm not strong enough to take something that size anywhere.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
Sorry I shouldn't tease. Take no "fence" from me. It takes way too much to insult me for real. If I were I would never say so, so rest assured no "fences" here. I am fully aware of spontaneous hibernation or the effects of sustained hibernation is more like it as it is far too late to go back, eh?
DeleteYeah, I dont get our gun laws here. They are terrifying to me. My brother is gone now but he spoke of that incident well into adulthood and he was 9 when it happened.
Um, you lost me at the word "sorry." I'm in total "brain fog" post 30/4. When I can think again, I could say more. But probably won't. Case closed on this end.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
I don't think the issue is quite that simple. I truly wish that gun owners would be more responsible for their guns or any other weapons. It is certainly heartbreaking when a child is killed, by any means.
ReplyDeleteIssues never are as simple as anyone would like. The editorial goal is to get people thinking, and talking.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
your point is so simple and so clear, rob. i agree completely and i thank you for being simply clear.
ReplyDeletethe absence of gun control in america is almost beyond comprehension.
and very sad.
love
kj
Thanks, kj. I'm beginning to re-dicsover my skills as an op-ed columnist, which I was for many years. Simple, but convincing. Thanks for noting that. And yes, gun control and the Second Amendment. They can live together happily, but few people seem to want that to happen. Baffles the Bear for sure.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
I feel very sorry for the 5 year old boy and the burden he will have to live with for the rest of his life. His parents were certainly very irresponsible people for allowing him to have it and play with it. We have very strict gun control in the Netherlands and most people do not have weapons. It's usually only criminals who liquidate each other.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your perspective, Irene. I don't know how many Canadians have guns. I know a lot of people hunt animals for food, particularly in the north.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
I don't get the whole gun ownership obsession. I'm Australian so we don't take it as a given. Maybe it's because we descend from convicts, no one in their right mind would have given them guns and told them it was their right to own them.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't considered that, Kellie. Of course, you're right. Plus I don't think many Commonwealth countries were very thrilled about an armed populace.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
I am a Texan now, we own guns - I own guns. I also believe in RESPONSIBLE gun ownership. Unfortunately, that is not something that can be legislated anymore than responsible driving, responsible drinking, or responsible parenting! Though some here might disagree with me, it is my belief that a five year old is not mature enough to fully comprehend the power of a gun and should never be given one, unless it is kept locked up in the family gun safe and used ONLY when a responsible adult is supervising. This story is a tragedy. So is every story involving a senseless death, young or old. It's not the guns people... it's the people! Stepping off my soapbox now! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Josie.
DeleteAround these parts, you can get up on your soapbox any time you want. As long as you're respectful, which you are. One of the reasons for this blog is to give people a chance to think and to chat about things.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
Thanks for this conversation, Bear. We can't accept any preventable death. We must labor as long as it takes to rectify the situation and to have this conversation over and over again. An available weapon like a firearm guarantees that innocent victims will die.
ReplyDeleteHow blind can we be?
Thanks, Rosaria. Preventable deaths are inexcusable, whether children shot in American homes, or workers killed in the collapse of a Bangladeshi garment factories. Other realities, though, need different reasoning at times.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
Hi Rob. I notice you're not publishing my reply to your response to my first comment on this post, which clarifies my beliefs about gun control. I realize they aren't the same beliefs you and others express here, however, I don't believe this denies their validity. Several comments have been published since I submitted my clarification comment. Perhaps mine was overlooked somehow. I look forward to continuing this discussion. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI just read about this in the paper this morning. It made me so sad to think that any family could gift a gun to such a young child. But if they're going to do so there should be restrictions on when it can be used, rules for its safe storage, and a thorough check of the piece after use to make sure its safe to put away. In a safe or other locked location, not the corner of the room. Such a senseless tragedy.
ReplyDeleteLots of kid-oriented gun advertising in the US, I understand. And even child-sized guns. (Not kidding!)
DeleteImagine; playing "Cowboys and indians" with real guns, and live ammo? Hmmmm.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
That is awful and just plain sad. Just one death? One death too many in my opinion. If guns are available in a kid's proximity you have to accept the possibility that someone might get killed. Guns are not just to look at or play things. They are meant to be a weapon and used to kill. That is what they are for. A senseless tragedy.
ReplyDeleteKathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
Sadly, they do look like toys. Which seems to me to be the attraction that the gun sellers are working with. Sadly.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
Interesting post. Personally, I support further gun regulations, but I know there are a lot of people who would disagree with that position.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Eagle. Some thorough gun education wouldn't hurt anyone. Nor would a detailed background check.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
Each one adds up. Did I hear that there have been close to one million gun related deaths in the past thirty years? That number is staggering!
ReplyDeleteA million deaths is hard to imagine. I don't disagree with the number; it's just hard for me to imagine a million deaths.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
Very sad...i just read about this. What are people thinking? You really have to wonder sometimes.
ReplyDeleteYes, Fran; very sad indeed. So preventable.
DeleteI hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
Yes it's the one (and actually so many more than that) If you live in Oakland as we do, there are so many senseless shootings. A mother was shot in front of her five year old son this week. I say No Guns At All. It's all so simple, I can't see any argument for anyone having a gun. Full Stop.
ReplyDeleteOh, Jody, that is so sad; a mom shot in front of her kid!
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
Oh this stories are worryingly more and more frequent. Somebody, somewhere in high needs to make some brave decisions about the right to bear (no pun intended) arms. Having said that, we don't have the right here and so knives are a big problem.
ReplyDeleteYes, Joanne. And I can see how knives would be a problem. We have that here, too.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)
It breaks my heart. sandie
ReplyDeleteMine too, Sandie!
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (poetry)