Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Ban Them Now!!! For the Children!!!

When you read this story, if you have a conscience, you will agree with me that immediate action is necessary to stop the insanity!
COVINGTON, Ga. (AP) - A driver ran over three young children and two women in the parking lot of a McDonald's restaurant Tuesday, police said. One witness described the man as having a smile on his face. "All indications are that he intentionally hit them," Assistant Police Chief Almond Turner said. The women and children were hospitalized, with a 2-year-old in critical condition. Witnesses said the car went over a curb as the victims left the restaurant, hit them and the building before backing up and hitting them again, police said. The driver, Lanny Barnes, 46, was in custody and charges against him were pending. Barnes' mother, Mary, told The Associated Press that her son has battled mental illness. "He's been suffering with depression for years," she said, her voice shaking after being contacted by telephone and told by a reporter what happened. "Lord have mercy." Ryan Boldman-Snyder, 20, an employee at the McDonald's, was on a break outside when he heard screaming, and said Barnes was "smiling the whole time." Witnesses tried to pull Barnes out of his car. Police officers finally pulled him out of the car from the passenger-side front door, Boldman-Snyder said. The victims included a 2-year-old girl in critical condition and two boys, ages 3 and 4, in stable condition, Police Chief Stacey Cotton said. The women, ages 33 and 36, are sisters and the mothers of the children, authorities said. Both were in stable condition. McDonald's area franchise manager Bill Hall said the company was deeply saddened. "Our prayers are with the victims, the children, and their families," Hall said. "We are cooperating fully with the authorities as they investigate." Hall said that the restaurant, about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta, would remain closed for the rest of the day and that counseling was being provided for employees.
Hundreds of preventable deaths a day are caused by automobiles. The automakers flood the market with more automobiles than they can sell and are culpable in these heinous acts of violence. If only the government would protect us from the evil car manufacturers that build these brazen killing machines!

Call your congressional leaders and demand that something be done today to end the senseless carnage caused by automobiles! Do it for the children!

If this argument sounds familiar, it's because it's the same illogical argument raised every time a firearm is used in the commission of a violent crime. If you think that firearms are different than automobiles and this argument doesn't make sense, then consider this: If we were inundated daily with national reports of traffic fatalities and the reports were editorialized by newspeople that abhorred automobiles, what do you think many people's opinions of automobiles would be? Would it be favorable toward automobiles? Or would automobiles suddenly become some sinister social evil?

Think that's far-fetched? Think again. A century ago, in this country, the pervading perception of firearms was favorable. It wasn't until the 1930's that the government started the gradual erosion of the Second Amendment. With each new generation of Americans since the 1930's has come further erosion of those rights because of an active campaign by leftists in our houses of power and the news media constantly re-educating Americans on the evils of firearms.

"It's common sense to limit firearms," the anti-gunners say. "Why do you need a gun?" they ask. "Why do you have to have that type of gun?" others appeal.

Substitute "automobile" in place of "firearm" or "gun" next time you hear this assertation. Substitute "baseball bat" or "knife" or "lead pipe", all of which have been used to violently and often fatally assault another human being. You see, the argument can been seen as valid no matter what you "fill in the blank" because the common denominator is there without being mentioned. The common denominator in the equation of violence is the criminal. Without the criminal, none of these devices are going to commit a violent crime.

The wire story above illustrates this perfectly. Is an automobile capable of killing someone? Absolutely. Does it kill all by itself? Absolutely not. Whether by accident or on purpose, an automobile requires human interaction to become a killer. The same is true of firearms - the killer isn't the gun; the killer is the person holding the gun.

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