Sylvia Torres-Guillén and Harold Jordan: Trump’s plan will likely have a “net-widening” effect of unnecessarily bringing more students into conflict with police and school staff, students who are there to pursue future options in life, not to cause large-scale harm to the school community.
Firearms, the 2nd Amendment and James Madison
The two parts of the statement are inseparably coupled; one cannot exist without the other. Therefore, one has the right to keep and bear a firearm if and only if one is a member of a well-regulated militia.
The Tail Wagging the Dog
W.D. Ehrhart: The day after the Florida bill was signed, I woke up to discover that the National Rifle Association has filed a federal lawsuit blocking this new law because, says the NRA, it violates the 2nd Amendment by punishing law-abiding citizens for the actions of a few deranged whackos.
Lockdown America and School Shootings
WJ Astore: President Trump has argued that select teachers be armed – following the NRA’s theory that a good man with a gun is the best insurance against a bad man with a gun. It’s a crazy idea, but we live in a crazy country.
A Locked and Loaded Covenant: The Religious Roots of America’s Gun Culture
Peter Laarman: Those who read Loaded will be able to see that the “irrationality” of things like open-carry laws and widespread resistance to gun safety measures become entirely comprehensible when viewed within the overall trajectory of a religiously-infused American Exceptionalism.
Kids Against Guns
Steve Hochstadt: Right now, the political engagement of young Americans for gun control is very high. Can the kids accomplish politically what generations of adults have not be able to do – prevent further school massacres?
Why Broward County’s Shooting Scares Me Most
Broward County Shooting — Mark Naison: There are tens of thousands of Nikolaus Cruz’s all over this country. Given easy access to automatic weapons, they are a massacre waiting to happen.
Dear Mr. President: Preserve Our Bump Stocks
Dan Embree: Because we’ve heard that a few wacky members of Congress have said that bump stocks are only useful for killing people in crowds, we would like to add a few insights into their peaceful uses.
Dear Mr. President: Nut Jobs Have Gun Rights, Too
Dan Embree: We concluded that all killings with guns, if not committed by Muslims or minorities, were mental health problems. And you can’t predict what crazy people do.
Gun Culture as Class Warfare
Tom Hall: Just as the corporate media Failed to cover the Republican tax plan, and the profit-rape of Puerto Rico, it is now also failing to cover the real story behind the Las Vegas massacre.
Once More into the Breech: Getting a Grip on Gun Violence
John Peeler: Just as Trump’s supporters chant “Build the Wall” for its symbolic value, those of us who want to get a grip on gun violence will not stop advocating for outlawing weapons whose only purpose is to kill people.
The Right to Bear Courage
Robert Koehler: The right to bear arms, especially as it has come to be interpreted — the right to own an assault rifle, the right to carry a gun pretty much anywhere and everywhere, the right to kill your enemy — is something far, far more than an isolated, individual freedom.
Why Not Have an Opt-Out Law for Gun Control?
Michael Hertz: With an “opt out” provision, any state could do what it wanted within its borders, which might encourage conservative politicians to vote for the law, knowing that their state could opt out of most of the provisions if it chose to do so.
