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Guns and the politics of fear
Posted 04.10.07 at 10:04 AMBy Rick Duren
Texas possesses the dubious honor and distinction of having more inmates on death row than any other state. Now, the Legislature is considering the granting of further rights of execution in the form of the new legislation which bestows the right to kill in “presumption of self defense.”
Texans are universally identified with guns. More than once, I have had visitors from other parts of the country and the world remark on the number of pickup trucks with gun racks behind the seat: “With guns in them!”
There is a disturbing problem emerging, whereby legislators seem to be creating laws driven by the politics of fear.
There is a disturbing problem emerging, whereby legislators seem to be creating laws driven by the politics of fear.
Recently, I had a shotgun and a handgun cleaned. I was talking with the “gun cleaneer” about a safety device for the small revolver, as it did not have one. I was most specifically thinking of my widowed mother and the possibility of having the revolver “at the ready,” should she need to defend herself against an intruder.
He urged caution. Statistics show that a large percentage of incidents have the unfortunate consequence of the intruder taking control of the weapon. The act of brandishing a gun in self defense was simply a threat, he said, and the victim had no “stomach for pulling the trigger.” I was further cautioned to admonish my mother (if we did choose for her to keep a weapon at her bed side): “If you do pull the trigger, keep shooting until the chamber is empty.”
It seems that a much better use of legislators’ time and energy would be in mandating gun registration, safety, and training. Considering that juries in this state are greatly sympathetic to the claim of personal threat and bodily harm, this new proposed legislation is redundant and frivolous.
Rick Duren is a PJC nursing student from Clarksville, Texas.
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