Dear NRA members/Rabid 2nd Amendment supporters,
Congratulations. If politics is a game, you have effectively won. In Arizona, in particular, the only bills that even get looked at are bills to deregulate arms usage and to restrict women's rights. I'll hand it to you, you guys are SUPER effective at getting each other to show up to the polls. More than that, I know a lot of you vote on gun rights ALONE. Yeah, some of you are only concerned about whether the politician you're voting for is an NRA member/staunch 2nd Amendment supporter. Hell, I even know a couple of people who admit that they vehemently disagree with ALL the other political views of the Republican candidates they voted for. But keeping the 2nd Amendment rigidly supported is what's most important, and so, term after term, they keep voting in crazy people, supporters of heinous, misogynistic legislation, all in the name of keeping the right to bear arms.
So, I think it's time to let you guys in on a little secret. Or maybe it's not so secret. We, the supporters of gun control, are multi-faceted voters. Yup, we care about more than one issue. In fact, I have never, in my 32 years of life, met someone whose #1 voting issue was being pro-gun control. We may feel strongly about it, but ultimately, we have bigger fish to fry. If a politician is very pro-choice, pro-women's rights, pro-education, pro-universal healthcare, I will still vote for him/her, even if they are an ardent, card-carrying NRA member. Hell, if they are strongly for 2 of the issues I listed, I'll still probably cast my vote their way.
Why? Because, while I think the lax gun laws in this state, and many others nationwide, are dangerous, I think that all the recent anti-choice legislation is a lot MORE dangerous. I think that funding education and healthcare is more important than keeping guns at home in locked safes. I think that there are SO many more things out there that need my attention and focus than gun laws.
I'd wager that just about any liberal you talk to is just like me. I'm tired of people who are liberal on every other issue claiming that they're "politically moderate" because they're pro-gun, who then turn around and vote conservative on election day. I have a message for them: You are a right-wing enabler! You've helped this state become a complete mess! Time to clean it up!
The jig is up. We, the pro-gun control liberals concede. You won this one. Can we focus on getting this state back to political health now? Can we join forces to get the crazy people who want to legislate their religion out? Can we get women's issues, like keeping Planned Parenthood funded, keeping the right to choose legal and protected, keeping birth control covered by ALL insurances (EVERYONE benefits from this one, trust me on this!) under control before we bring up the gun debate?
I know a lot of you are doubtful of President Obama's sincerity in his vow that gun control is not his focus or his issue. I have no idea why you are so skeptical of this, especially since in his 3 1/2 years in office he has kept silent on all issues 2nd Amendment related. Let me be frank with you. He's got bigger fish to fry, as well. More than that, he has an entire coterie of 2nd Amendment advocates he would like to court as voters, or at least not piss off so as to fail to get anything else done later on. You know, stuff he'd like to accomplish that we as liberals think MATTER.
I, a card-carrying liberal, hereby promise to put all arguments about the 2nd Amendment, and what it does or does not mean, aside until future elections. I promise to focus my vote on things that matter, such as the economy, women's rights, jobs, healthcare, and education. Will you please join me? I'll keep my mitts off your guns if you'll keep yours off my uterus!
Hello Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI want to get the other side out there as well. I truly believe in our 2nd amendment and our right to bear arms and protect our families. I also believe many of the things that you have spoken about. In spite of being a Republican, I do not vote "party lines" just because they are Republican. I always vote for the "best person" (IMHO) for the job. I do not feel I need any assault rifles, military grade weaponry, but do feel that pistols and hunting rifles serve a purpose. I do not want to be lumped in to the extremist's, neither "right" or "left" as I am capable of thinking for myself and don't need any party to dictate what is or should be right. I guess what I am saying is "don't fuck with my right to bear arms" and just because of this, doesn't make me a dick. By the way, great blog.
Love ya,
D
Ps. No idea why this calls me "Dad"
Haha, I know you're not my dad, because my dad does NOT get involved in politics in any way, and has never owned anything more powerful than a BB gun. NO, I'm not trying to call out everyone who's passionate about their 2nd Amendment rights. It would certainly be unfair to lump everyone together like that. There are fundamentalist crazies out there, who I cannot even begin to talk to. They are NOT who I was targeting with this post. I was targeting, specifically, people who are generally liberal who blindly vote Republican in the interest of keeping gun control at bay. I just don't think there's enough knowledge out there that, at least in this state, there is NO WAY the government is going to be coming for your guns any time soon. I think the issue can be put to bed, at least for the time being, and we can focus on the shitstorm we have going on with the economy, women's rights, gay rights and jobs.
ReplyDeleteBy definition, if you are actually thinking about more than your gun rights when you vote, you are not who I was trying to communicate with. In fact, I think you should know that desiring ANY gun control legislation whatsoever puts you in the "pro-gun control" camp. In general, some gun control advocates want an abolishment of arms in the US, but most of us are a lot more reasonable. We understand that this is no longer even POSSIBLE with all the guns we have out there, but we would like some reasonable restrictions, like background checks. That's all. But like I said, I'm not even going to open THAT can of worms this election. I'm calling a truce in the name of retaining bodily autonomy for myself and my fellow Americans with uteri.