I Support The Second Amendment

in the wake of the shootings at virginia tech, there has been some renewed interest in the debate over guns in our society. i, unlike most liberals, don't really have a problem with guns. firearms can be used in a safe, responsible manner. unfortunately, you cant control when people misuse guns, just like you cant control when people misuse power tools, but that should not prevent honest, law abiding citizens from owning guns. i do think, however, that gun owners should be required to have a license as a symbol of passing some sort of education/safety/proficiency test.

one argument from the pro-gun crowd that i do not agree with, however, is that if more people had guns at virginia tech, the tragedy could have been avoided. this humorous, yet still serious, article will illustrate my point further (courtesy of deadspin):

This Is Why We Should Arm All Umpires .. And Mascots

You know what would make baseball even more popular? Regularly scheduled gunfights! In East Texas, a rec league game turned into a hail of buckshot.

"What basically happened is they had one subject there that was agitating one of the players," [police] said. "He (the suspect) then threw a beer at this player." That turned out to be the last straw. The baseball player approached the heckler, who was also his cousin, and they got into a fistfight The suspect then left the baseball field, but returned a short time later with a shotgun loaded with birdshot and "started shooting down in the area of the baseball field."

That angered the suspect who asked the large crowd gathered around the field if someone had a gun with which he could retaliate. "Someone did furnish him with a shotgun (also loaded with birdshot) and they started shooting at each other," [police] said.

So much to work with here. First, the initial heckler was the guy's cousin. And then, when the guy starting firing buckshot, the player asked if anyone in the crowd had a gun ... and somebody did! Baseball's so much more fun in East Texas.

Buckshot In The Ass Night [You Been Blinded]