Logan Murphy, Crooks and Liars: Friday morning on CNN Kiran Chetry spoke with Arizona's AG Terry Goddard about the raging drug war taking place along our southern border and how U.S. gun and drug laws are perpetuating the violence. (Click on pic for vid.)Since George Bush allowed the assault weapons ban to expire, the gun smuggling trade in the U.S. has skyrocketed and many of these weapons are ending up in the hands of Mexican drug lords and are responsible for thousands of murders. The right has been going bonkers, warning Democrats want to take everyone's guns from them and turn us into a nation of dopers, but it's high time they admit that our gun laws are aiding drug cartels and making it possible for them to get more drugs into our country.
Goddard points out that the vast majority of the drug cartel's income comes from the sale of marijuana which begs the questions - is it time to reinstate the assault weapons ban and legalize pot? Both President Obama and AG Eric Holder have said they want to reinstate the assault weapon ban, hopefully they will be successful. As for the legalization of pot, I think the time has come.
LSB: It's long past time, IMHO, that assault weapons were banned. This circular argument that we need more guns to protect us from the guns that criminals already have (and are constantly arming themselves with even more of these lethal weapons) doesn't make sense. It never did. The Second Amendment (right to bear arms) never anticipated assault weapons, and, in fact, was more about arming citizens - with muskets - as a means of creating a state militia. The Second Amendment has been co-opted but the NRA, and it is long past due to put some restraints in place. Even the First Amendment right to free speech has limitations. Surely banning assault rifles is just as important to the safety of our citizens as not yelling "fire" in a crowded movie theatre. And as for legalizing pot, ... cool!
No comments:
Post a Comment