Tuesday, September 29, 2009

More Guns Equals More Gun Accidents

The gun lobby is in the middle of an intense campaign to push guns into every corner of our society. Protestors are showing up at Obama rallies with handguns in side holsters and assault rifles slung on their backs. The Senate just passed an amendment to the transportation bill forcing Amtrak to allow guns in checked luggage or face the loss of funding. Tennessee just passed a law allowing concealed weapons in bars. Montana passed a law allowing the open carry of firearms without a permit and barring hotels from prohibiting firearms on their premises. A recent failed effort in the U.S. Senate sought to relax concealed weapon carry requirements across the country. Kansas passed a law allowing guns or ammunition in vehicles in correctional institution parking lots. Utah passed a law that prevents any private institution from prohibiting firearms in cars in their parking lots. Congress approved legislation that will force guns into the safest and most tranquil parts of our country - our National Parks. This is all part of the number one priority of the National Rifle Association - sell more guns.

Hidden amid all the bravado about the 2nd Amendment and the scare tactics about President Obama wanting to take everyone's guns away are news stories the gun lobby hopes you will ignore. Stories that point to the fact that more guns equals more gun accidents.

A recent gathering of gun extremists at a Michigan beach, organized by Michigan Open Carry, ended when a man accidentally fired his semiautomatic handgun while attempting to unload the gun.

This past weekend a woman was shot at a gun show in Mesa, Arizona when a gun vendor unintentionally fired one of his guns. In Utah, a woman returning from target shooting with friends tragically died when a gun fell out of her car and discharged, hitting her in the stomach.

These three unintentional shootings are just the most recent examples of stories from across the country. Consider this sampling of stories from just the past six months:

Remember these stories the next time you hear someone talking about why we need to push guns into every corner of our country. Think about them the next time your legislator is asked to vote on a bill that will make it easier for more people to carry more guns into more parts of our society. Is this really the world we want to live in?