Á mes amis en France, merci!
11/22/2023
Á mes amis en France, merci! On Sunday the 12th of October something seismic happened. These things do happen from time
Hoplophobes… I’m Tired of Your Banality
- By Steven Lieberman
- June 1, 2022
- 7:30 am
- Freedom & Liberty, Laws and Policy, Politics / Government
Another week, another murderous rampage.
This has become pathetic, and our response to it has become equally pathetic. While Sandy, Kavon, and I were in Wisconsin this last week, part of the flotsam and jetsam of human waste decided to seek notoriety by killing a bunch of children.
Naturally, there was an immediate and visceral reaction to go after the tool the slob used. Just as the hoplophobes have become tired of civil rights activists “hiding” behind the Constitution, I have become tired, and frankly now completely dismissive, of their incessant fixation on the tool and not the perpetrator.
If the “real” interest on the part of these enablers was to “protect our children”, then they would take real concrete steps… to… you know… ”protect our children”.
There is such low-hanging fruit they completely ignore because to do so would impact their own empty lives.
Let me illuminate the terrain for these activists and give them some areas they could take immediate action with:
Cell phones:
In 2019, there were 387 people killed driving a vehicle and texting. That number goes up dramatically when you factor in the number of non-drivers (pedestrians) killed by drivers distracted by texting while driving. The CDC actually estimates the total number of drivers killed by distracted driving actually reaches 3000 people annually.
The number of people killed in homicides with a rifle in 2020: 455.
Arguably having a rifle is a specifically enumerated right. (In other words… you can’t “ban” them.)
Cell phones? Nope… There is no Constitutional right to a cell phone. They could be “banned” tomorrow.
Vehicles themselves:
In 2020, there were 38,824 people who were killed in vehicle accidents. Clearly licensing is not enough. Too many people are driving vehicles and too many people are dying unnecessarily. Again… there is no Constitutional right to a vehicle; perhaps only well-trained licensed drivers should have access to these instruments of death.
Sharp pointy things:
There were 403 people killed with rifles in 2017; there were 1591 who were killed with sharp pointy things. There is no background check for a knife, and generally no real restrictions that prevent you from going to Sur la Table at the mall and walking out with an instrument of mayhem.
Where is the outcry against steak knives?
You don’t see the outcry because there is no money in it. Just as the antis scream about the “gun lobby”, they conveniently forget to inform the listener they are a lobby themselves… and one that rakes in a ton of money. Every time an atrocity takes place, the fundraising letters go out… and the money comes in.
Common sense measures to reduce violent contacts between scum and sheep? There are clearly things that can be done, but no one wants to talk about it. Armed security at each school in America? Sac re blu! We can’t have that! Children cannot be in the presence of…gasp… visible firearms!
Only allowing internet access by youths to “educational” websites?
OMFG!!!! That might mean that my kids might have to develop social skills! That also might mean I have to interact with my offspring! We can’t have that… besides… who the hell made the government responsible for what my kid can and cannot do online?! I don’t want the State involved in that! I only want the State to take people’s guns away from them!
Here is the dirty little secret: We have had guns available for the last 500 years, repeating firearms with serious magazine capacity for the last 200 years. During the vast majority of this time there was little to no regulation of these weapons. In 1968 we began our first foray into serious regulation, and three years later, we have our first mass shooting.
There is a problem. No one with a brain can’t help but see that. The issue is that guns are not the problem. Something else is going on. I have my suspicions, from video games, social isolation, over medication, dissolution of the family unit, secularization, moral relativism… there is a whole cauldron of potential causation, and, frankly, it is probably a culmination of all of the above.
Anyone who thinks that by removing guns from the equation (as though that is even possible) violence will suddenly cease to exist is engaged in sophistry of the highest order.
Steven Lieberman
Steven Lieberman Esq. is a Captain in the California State Military Reserve and a use of force attorney working with law enforcement and legally armed civilians in protocols, training, as well as civil and criminal culpability compliance issues. His knowledge of use of force protocols, as well as the institutional workings of law enforcement, provides clients with the necessary tools to avoid criminal prosecution, and mitigate civil liability.
Recent Posts
Introduction to Another
11/15/2023
Dim sunlight cut through the wooden blinds and struck the bar like muted blades. The cycling wicker fans overhead were a mild nuisance, as were
The Young Turks
11/08/2023
When I was in college, I had the distinct pleasure of taking Western Civilization I and II with Dr. David Harnett. I idolized
Rights and Responsibilities
11/01/2023
Rights and Responsibilities “Mr. Lieberman, would you be willing to handle a lawsuit?” “Why don’t you tell me the facts.”
Comments (13)
Thanks Steve. Thanks for fighting, and helping the rest of us to know how.
Well said, Mr. Steven. That speech has been mine for years. Keep up the good fight.
Hear, hear! And, thank you to all who have served, especially to those who paid the ultimate price and those they left behind.
There are so many places I could go to respond this. But I will share a facebook post here that I think is directly applicable..
Everyday 32 people die from senseless drunk driving murders. When are we as a country going to do something about it? We need common sense alcohol laws. No one needs hard liquor to drink socially. Social drinkers and drink beer and wine. We need to prohibit hard liquor from being sold. And while we’re at it, let’s make the distillers responsible for the drunk drivers. They knew that people would drink their product and drive.
And while we’re at it, let’s outlaw marijuana, too. The only point of marihuana is to get high.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving
I was hesitant to reply, but here goes:
There are many pieces, unfortunately so many people form opinions without being more fully informed. Perhaps if we spent more money on mental health, kept violent criminals in jail without bail, etc., we could reduce the number of deaths nationwide.
One undeniable fact is we have a U.S. Senate elected by a minority population which can prevent reform on ANY issue regardless of what the majority of Americans believe is reasonable, i.e., California with a population of 40 million has the same number of U.S. senators as does Wyoming with a population of 600 thousand. I remember a time when we had politicians willing to compromise, today we appear to live in an age of political obstructionism and gridlock.
Citing statistics is tricky: Yes, there were 455 rifle murder victims in the U.S. in 2020, however, there were also another 4,863 deaths by “Firearms type not stated”; weren’t some of those also rifle deaths not attributed in the 455? (https://www.statista.com/statistics/195325/murder-victims-in-the-us-by-weapon-used/). Therefore, drawing an irrefutable fact is impossible .
Many people do not know that FBI statistics are tabulated from Police agencies that CHOOSE to submit data and not all agencies do.
Intransigence is not useful. Without looking at issues from all sides and being willing to compromise for the benefit of an entire society is foolish because no nation can survive without some level of cohesion and social well-being.
Agreed, it is horrible and everyone wants to fight about ‘their’ solution instead of implementing ‘a’ solution. Perhaps it will be trial and error until some improvement shows. For sure, it is a strange, bizarre, challenging world over the past decades and a bigger struggle than ever for children, teens, young adults, all of us. And those who thrive will thrive regardless.
Children, teens, young adults, their brains haven’t even been fully developed by 25. And yet they weren’t this anxious, agitated, feeling pushed to their limits as much as ‘these days’. Of course we have all said that for decades. Some new (or going back to old?) social constructs for raising and educating children would be beneficial, couldn’t say what yet willing to be part of the discussion.
My 96 year old ex-father-in-law literally asks me every day to explain what is going on in the world and tell him ‘why’. He was in the Air Force in WWII as well as his two brothers. They were pretty clear those days on the ‘why’. Perhaps our country has to find some new (or old or some hybrid) ‘why’.
Pogo said (and I’m dating myself here), ‘We have met the enemy and they are us.’ We have to stop being the enemy to ourselves and each other and find a collaboration someplace. Can’t say I’m too hopeful, yet isn’t that the value of our young, to create hope and energy? Regardless, all I feel I can do for now is to help the people I can support to stay mentally fit and to continue to train at ADI to stay around long enough to see a solution.
Marco Rubio made a great statement yesterday about one possible solution – Threat Assessment. There was a lot of noise from this perp prior to the shootings, yet no one did anything. He had run-ins with law enforcement which didn’t somehow prevent him from purchasing guns. How did that happen? He posted crazy things days prior to the shootings. These are things that have happened before most of the major shootings yet the system failed to acknowledge it until after the shootings. How many times do people like senator Rubio have to shine the light on the issue before the politicians get over themselves and act on it?
Most mass shooting victims had 1 thing in common: they were defenseless.
The 2A means not being defenseless, but it’s been so infringed, & hoplophobia so engendered in the populace, that most people are utterly defenseless in public from criminals, crazies, & domestic enemies.
I can’t help but wonder how many victims of the jihadi San Bernardino Christmas party massacre had arms safely locked up at home in accordance California’s “common sense” gun laws.
At least their guns were safe; the owners, not so much.
Couldn’t agree more with everything you said! How do you protect children without guns? Gun free zones = free fire zones to crazies. Possibly arming some teachers but the anti-gun people hate that. Raise the age of owning an AR to 21. I know all the arguments against it but it does seem like a partial solution that doesn’t ban ARs and may appease the Dems and give Reps some cover. Just a couple of my thoughts.
Hopefully, we get a good decision from the Supreme Court decision on NY vs Bruen by Friday.
Well, time to avoid all of the 32,000 postal service gun free zones as well?
Section 232.1(l) states:
Weapons and explosives. No person while on postal property may carry firearms, other dangerous or deadly weapons, or explosives, either openly or concealed, or store the same on postal property, except for official purposes.
Another great posting Steve.
Sen. Chuck Schumer was quoted this past week when asked about arming teachers or providing armed security at schools, I’ll paraphrase his response, ” We don’t need to introduce more guns into this problem.” I wish someone would have asked Sen Schumer what would be the protocol if an armed assault was made on a US senator or congressman, or any other “important person”? I can tell you with a very high level of confidence the response would be add more security = add more guns. Unless of course you are Steve Scalise.
On a side note, were there not about 30 shootings in Chicago this past weekend, hmmmm.
You stated that , “The issue is that guns are not the problem. Something else is going on. I have my suspicions, from video games, social isolation, over medication, dissolution of the family unit, secularization, moral relativism… there is a whole cauldron of potential causation, and, frankly, it is probably a culmination of all of the above.”
This is definitely the problem. Further investigation into that teenage wolf killing children will uncover shockingly negligent parental responsibility.
I know this is a late response but I just got around to reading this. I believe the issue is addressed in the first paragraph when it said that these slime balls are looking for notoriety. If the names of these “people” are never mentioned or published and anyone or any entity who mentions their name is severely punished monetarily then maybe, without the “fame” reward, these incidents will be fewer and further between.