Gun Freedom - James Steele

Gun freedom stems from the need to repress the freedom of the others. - James Steele - unrepentant counterfeiter

Time To Talk

After the Sandy Hook shooting several right-wing TV pundits admonished the call for a national dialogue on gun control. There was no mention of guns during the presidential debates between President Obama and Mitt Romney the GOP challenger. When Bob Costas commented on a KC football player shooting his girlfriend and then himself, the NRA ramped up its media machine and Mr. Costas had to retract his criticism on guns. Even the White House came out with a statement; “I think that day will come, but today’s not that day, especially as we are awaiting more information about the situation." I not now, when? The Bill of Rights guarantees our freedom of speech. "The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable." And this is no matter what the NRA thinks about gun control.

Their Man Romney

GOP candidate Mitt Romney appeared on NBC to say the following about the Aurora shooter; "This person shouldn't have had any kind of weapons and bombs and other devices and it was illegal for him to have many of those things already. But he had them. And so we can sometimes hope that just changing the law will make all bad things go away. It won't." In actuality James Holmes bought his weapons in accordance with Colorado state gun laws. But not according to the man with the magic pajamas who didn't know when to shut his mouth. "I don't happen to believe that America needs new gun laws. A lot of what this ... young man did was clearly against the law. But the fact that it was against the law did not prevent it from happening."

Charlton Heston "My Cold DEAD Hands" NRA Speech

The movie actor Charlton Heston was an active progressive supporter throughout the 50s and 60s. He marched against segregation, and even opposed the Vietnam War, but the star of TOUCH OF EVIL reversed his beliefs in the 80s saying, "I didn't change. The Democratic party changed." By the 90s Heston's swing to the right had reached its pinnacle. His 1997 Fighting the Culture War in America speech was embraced by the right who loved hearing the Moses of their childhood preach to their choir, "The Constitution was handed down to guide us by a bunch of wise old dead white guys who invented our country! Now some flinch when I say that. Why! It's true-they were white guys! So were most of the guys that died in Lincoln's name opposing slavery in the 1860s. So why should I be ashamed of white guys? Why is "Hispanic Pride" or "Black Pride" a good thing, while "White Pride" conjures shaven heads and white hoods? Why was the Million Man March on Washington celebrated by many as progress, while the Promise Keepers March on Washington was greeted with suspicion and ridicule? I’ll tell you why: Cultural warfare!" Heston refused to back down from his critics and at the NRA's 129th Convention in 2000 he gave his famous "From My Dead Hands" speech. "For the next six months, Al Gore is going to smear you as the enemy. He will slander you as gun-toting, knuckle-dragging, bloodthirsty maniacs who stand in the way of a safer America. Will you remain silent? I will not remain silent. If we are going to stop this, then it is vital to every law-abiding gun owner in America to register to vote and show up at the polls on Election Day.” Ever faithful to drama, Heston shouted with a replica of Sharps buffalo rifle in his hand, and shouted, "So, as we set out this year to defeat the divisive forces that would take freedom away, I want to say those fighting words for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed, and especially for you, Mr. Gore: 'From my cold, dead hands!” I have to admit that he was good that day. Charlton Heston died April 6, 2008. His hands are no longer cold. They are bones as are the victims of Columbine, Virginia Tech, and the Texas Tower shootings. To view the 'My Dead Hands' speech please go to the following URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOJQFNOQqCY

Bang Bang Batman

On July 31, 1966 Charles Whitman typed out a suicide note in his Austin, Texas home. The following is an excerpt from that letter; "I do not quite understand what it is that compels me to type this letter. Perhaps it is to leave some vague reason for the actions I have recently performed. I do not really understand myself these days. I am supposed to be an average reasonable and intelligent young man. However, lately (I cannot recall when it started) I have been a victim of many unusual and irrational thoughts." Later that night the ex-Marine murdered his mother and wife." In the morning Whitman transported an arsenal of weapons and ammunition to the Texas Tower of the UT campus. Upon reaching the viewing deck Whitman barricaded the door and loaded the weapons to commence what was to become America's worst mass shooting. Since then scores of gunman have assaulted schools, restaurants, business, and homes without warning. The only event seemingly safe from such massacres are NRA conventions and gun shows. The names of gun rampages have been scorched into the national memory and the ruthless attack on a Colorado movie theater has joined the tragic list Columbine, Virginia Tech, Luby's cafeteria, the San Diego McDonald's and many other deadly shootings. Typically a friend described the Aurora Theater shooter to the BBC as "really sweet, shy" and "didn't have any creepy vibe about him at all". James Holmes also seemed normal to gunshops at which he purchased an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, two .40-calibre Glock handguns and a 12-gauge Remington shotgun. His ammo was bought online without any ID checks, which wouldn't have mattered since the twenty-one year-old neuroscience student had no significant criminal record. The audience watching the new Batman movie had any warning about the attack, although New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly stretched the limits of his imagination by telling reporters that Mr Holmes had portrayed himself as Batman's arch-rival, the Joker. NYPD's top cop should know that at moment like this the best thing to say is nothing, but he was joined at the hip by a Texas GOP congressman's remark that the Aurora shooting was linked to “ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs. We've threatened high school graduation participations, if they use God's name, they're going to be jailed ... I mean that kind of stuff. Where was God? What have we done with God? We don't want him around. I kind of like his protective hand being present." A better protection would be strict gun control laws and a complete ban on the sale of assault weapons to prevent a reoccurrence of these massacres, but the NRA and their congressional allies on both sides of the aisle regard the right to bear arms as more sacred that Freedom of Speech, so sadly there will be Columbine II and a Texas Tower III as long as America loves guns more than life. ps by the way the new Batman movie A DARK KNIGHT RISES is supposed to suck.