Click here to sign a new petition for a California law against gun violence.
I've liked Gavin Newsom since he opened up San Francisco City Hall for gay people to get married in 2004. I also like that he's not so into guns. I always open Gavin's emails. They're well written and make sense. I loathe politics and spam, but somehow he and his emails transcend both. Maybe he's an evil genius and I should be scared because he got me listening when no one else has. Or, he's just smart and a gen-x-er like me. We speak the same language.
Just now, I clicked through his email to a form about gun control. I was asked to tell my personal story about guns, why I'm not into it, why I want more control, which, yes, means more government.
What I wrote:
That favorite saying of many gun owners, "guns don't kill people, people kill people" is just dumb. Of course guns kill people. Without guns, people wouldn't die from other people shooting them. Which brings me to the next tiresome defense.
"If we the people aren't allowed to have guns, only the criminals will have guns."
I say, while that may be true (may), there are still less guns and that means less shooting. Consider the "war on drugs." It's a disaster riddled with lies, BUT there are less people on "drugs" than there would be if one could run down to 7-11 and grab some opiates for a headache. Same reasoning with guns.
Less guns = less shooting. I'm terrible at math, but isn't that an accurate equation?
On a personal level, I was nearly shot by my beloved grandfather when he proudly showed me his gun. I was 24 years old, he was 80. I was sitting in his lounge chair when he approached me from the side and lowered the gun towards my line of sight...but it went off before I could get a look. The bullet lodged in a window frame. I was deaf for an hour or so, while my grandfather descended into a terrible depression. That near-miss wouldn't have been possible if he didn't have a gun. Simple. So simple.
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Ok now, let's talk about getting some opiates in 7-11 because I get massive headaches and my back is fucked up. Just kidding.
