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.
A Well Regulated Militia
Jerry Drucker: In spite of what the NRA, the Tea Party or today’s Republican’s might say, the Founders never had the thought of overthrowing the United States government, nor the use of guns to protect us from ourselves.
America’s Gun Culture This Year
Walter Brasch: There were 12 mass murders so far this year. There will be 33 more deaths from gunshot wounds today. There will be 33 more tomorrow. And the day after that and the day after that.
Gun-Control Myths
Karen Finney: It’s time to reframe the conversation about guns to focus on how we address the realities of human behavior to more effectively prevent gun violence and protect our safety.
Trust Me: You Believe in Gun Control
Tina Dupuy: Just like cutting taxes doesn’t increase revenue—making gun ownership unlimited doesn’t make us safer. It’s a lie. A fairy tale of the gun lobby. Completely unsupported by data or logic. A falsehood.
Nary a Clue
Tom Degan: If ignorance is ever made into a human virtue, Sarah Palin, you may be sure, will receive the Nobel Prize.
The Conservative Republican Lexicon
Bob Vetter-Barber: As a public service to Republican political candidates planning to run for office for the first time in 2012, this guide to Conservative principles is offered free. You want to be able to “Talk Republican” effectively. Read it for 50 ways to find your party.
Guns, Polls, and Too Many Dead Americans
Steve Hochstadt: New polls about high capacity magazines show that nearly two-thirds favor banning their sale. A minority of Americans, consistently about a third, favor banning the sale of all handguns, except to police.
Expanding Gun Rights
Carl Matthes: One last thought, Rep. King, to be even more safe, why not amend your bill to say that a gun may not be carried within your congressional district when you’re there?
The Consequences of Words
Tom Degan: The extremism of 1963 was pretty much isolated to a few southern cities. Forty-eight years later it’s gone national. What happened in Arizona over the weekend is only the beginning.
Needed: A Competency Test for Elected Officials
David Love: Where do they find these people? I’m talking about those crazy-talking Tea Party types, ultra-conservative Republicans posing as legitimate lawmakers and politicians, some of them even passing themselves off as senators, members of Congress and governors.
Do We Have Common Ground?
Steve Hochstadt: If we tune out the shouting, we might find that we American voters are not at war with each other. Tuesday’s results included several messages about national policy that most Americans agree on.
