Guest Editorial

BY DON BITLER  |  JANUARY 26, 2011

don bitlerTucson Shooting Catastrophe

We should all abhor, no matter what political party, the fact so many in the liberal media are blaming Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck along with several other conservatives, for the recent senseless murders in Tucson, Arizona. This action is beyond reasonable understanding. The majority of the intelligent population is aware of exactly what these, so called, media people are doing. Are Katie Couric, George Stephanopoulos, Brian Williams and all the other so called opinion news reporters like Keith Olbermann and Ed Shultz, all so brain dead they believe the lies they are spewing. If so, we are in more trouble, in this country, than previously thought.

Furthermore, placing blame, correctly or incorrectly never solves problems. In some cases however, it does help cover up real problems, this could very well be one of those cases. It seems these people think being a hunter makes that person a violent person, or being a gun owner makes that person a killer and yet these same people defend the people who flew the airliners into the towers and the pentagon and also think cold blooded murderers should not be put to death by violent means. But unborn babies should be killed if the potential mother decides she doesn’t want it or changed her mind about the father. How can any group get so twisted in their beliefs? Has the organizations we citizens depend on for information become oblivious to the problem(s) or have they decided to support converting to Socialism, Marxism or Fascism, because they think it will help them personally.

There is no wonder Fox News is doing so well and the others are dying on the vine, they (Fox) are the only ones using any intelligent reasoning and providing the truth. Our founders considered a free press the fourth branch of government, the watch dog, if you will, of our governments internal workings. If there is anywhere these great people erred it is the free press. Not of course that it shouldn’t be free but that they, the founders, thought everyone would be honest in the free press. I suspect they never considered, those with the power of the free press could be corrupted as they are today. Should we appreciate the goal of all the politicians proposing additional laws to attempt to stop future situations like the shooting in Tucson, Arizona. There is nothing wrong with that, there is something wrong with the idea any of these laws will ever curtail this type of action by a criminal. But understanding the desire to quell such attacks in the future is completely understandable, that’s what we all want. Going about that end successfully demands considerable understanding of the problem. Additional laws, according to history, are not the answer and will undoubtedly not provide the desired results but instead create more problems. It is difficult to understand why the so called gun control advocates do not understand taking the guns from honest citizens enhances the criminal, and will never stop criminals from killing.

Here is just another example of not being able to reason with an unreasonable person. Nothing over and above the current laws will curtail future acts like the shooting in Tucson. There is no law that can be made that will ever preemptively stop a killer determined to succeed in that goal that is not already on record. Hasn’t even President Obama demonstrated that, even if he didn’t realize it when he said, in jest, “you bring a knife we bring a gun.” His point was we are determined to succeed and nothing you do will stop us.

That demonstrates the mind set of determined criminals. Not that President Obama is, or acted like, a criminal in this case. Banning guns, ammunition, large clips or anything else the politicians can do or any law they may put in the books will never stop a determined killer. If hand guns are banned within 1000 feet of a member of congress they could take a rifle and shoot from 1, 2 , 3 or more hundred yards. It does not have to be a large magazine it can be a single shot. Furthermore, even if guns were outlawed totally it would not stop these things. It is possible to get a gun, if it is desired, even if it is illegal. Why is it impossible for gun control activists to understand this? Guns are illegal in Mexico. Thousands of people have been killed in the border towns and throughout the country with illegal guns.

A victim is just as dead with an illegal gun as a legal one. Have we not learned anything from the terrorist? How many of those killed in terrorist attacks have been with guns. The weapon of choice is bombs. If a determined killer cannot get a gun perhaps they will use a bomb. Bombs are already illegal for the citizens to own. Does that really guarantee us no one will ever have a bomb? Some of the gun control advocates believe making it harder to get guns will slow them down (of course it will not, and can never stop them), and yet they use the opposite reasoning on the border fence by stating “if we build the fence, they will dig under it or go over it with a ladder so why build a fence.” That reasoning is not justified; there are an estimated 250 million guns in this country, a number that can never be reduced to zero. There are not 250 million tunnels and ladders under and over the border.

Another good analogy is these same people contend we can never send 12 million illegal aliens back to their respective country so why try, just give them citizenship and problem solved. But we can get rid of 250 million guns? I would like someone who advocates gun control to explain that reasoning. The current proposed answer(s) to the problem is no solution. Perhaps it should be done medically. It was known this guy was looney tunes but no one acted on that information or notified anyone to act on that information. Are the parents and the college personal at fault? Everyone who knew the guy was nuts is partly to blame for the deaths just like the superiors to the military shooter at Fort Hood. No amount of security can ever protect someone if the assassin is determined to succeed.

Consequently, punishment may be our only hope of stopping this type of thing. If we remain so pacifistic we do not wish to use capital punishment and use it swiftly nothing will change. This nut was caught in the act and we are still calling him a suspect. Try him and hang him publicly. Swift justice curtails violence. Swift public justice curtails violence swiftly. Every one of these victims could be alive today if we, as a nation, were not more sympathetic to the perpetrator of a crime than the victim.