Congress considered banning the Glocks some years back from public consumption but backed down under pressure from the National Rifle Association and other right wing groups.
Yet the time has come once again to consider keeping these weapons out of public hands. I'd like to challenge the many conservatives who read this blog to give me a reason why automatic assault rifles or machine guns should be freely available.
They are needed by police and military
to kill an enemy. They have no purpose for hunting (I have been a hunter but I used a single-shot, bolt-action.22 cal. rifle). And, when it comes to personal defense, why does one need a weapon that can spit out from 500 to 700 rounds a minute?
Ditto Glocks.
Unfortunately, the conservative culture is filled with the imagery and pageantry of weapons. Sarah Palin brags of her prowess in slaying Alaska's wild animals and says we need to "reload" when it comes to politics.
When I attended the Virginia Tea Party convention in Richmond this October, there were
plenty of gun nuts strutting about openly holstering Glocks or .45 cal., 1911-style ACP pistols. I remember getting into a discussion with one fanatic wearing a "
Guns Save Lives" sticker. He told me that the good old .45 has more stopping power than a 9 mm. Hard right media gurus such has Bill O'Reilly regularly talk about shooting down their opponents and beheading Washington Post reporters. I blog on the Post and I wonder if I am included.
It's time to stop ignoring the gun culture. How many more Techs or Tuscons are we going to need before we wake up?
Peter Galuszka
