GorT has been watching excerpts of the “March for Our Lives” coverage via the local news and online sources and is concerned about the future.

First, let’s get this out of the way – who here wants schools, churches, movie theaters, etc. to be less safe? OK, seeing no hands, I’ll continue.

Second, we can have a whole debate over the Second Amendment, what various phrases and wording means and how it has been interpreted and legislated over the course of our country’s history. But I’m neither a historian nor a constitutional expert, so I’ll pass on that.

Third, has anyone seen anyone involved in this “March for Our Lives” advocate for the improved enforcement of the existing laws? And maybe ask for accountability when those in positions of enforcement fail to do their jobs? From everything I’ve read, it is likely that the Parkland, FL shooting could have been avoided with some better enforcement. We don’t need more laws.

Fourth, let us, for a moment, pursue the actions in the March For Our Lives petition:

1. Ban the sale of assault weapons like the ones used in some recent shootings  and ban the sale of high capacity magazines – then what? What about all of the EXISTING “assault weapons”? The petition doesn’t say anything about the mass confiscation of those. If you support such a confiscation, where do you draw the line in what the government can confiscate? Likely you’ll argue that they are confiscating items that caused large numbers of deaths. Ok, turn in your cellphone or driver’s license. Now. That combination is responsible for 4-5 times the number of deaths PER DAY than guns. I’m waiting….
2. Closing the “gun show loophole” – the petition cites “22 percent of gun sales in this country take place without a background check”. This has been largely rated as false, because it includes gifts (i.e. within a family) as part of “gun sales”. The number is probably closer to 13 percent. A large number of gun owners (on the order of 95+ percent) support increased and more “universal”* background checks. But wait, while we’re discussing background checks and these kids are touting that they will be voting, shouldn’t we make sure that the power to vote and make the kind of changes they’re talking about isn’t abused also? We should have universal background checks, or at least identification checks for every single vote cast. I listened to Hogg and others tout how powerful the ability to vote is…let’s protect that accordingly. Right?

Fifth, do not be snowed – these kids are, unfortunately, being manipulated by liberal, agenda-based, political lobbying organizations to include: MoveOn and Planned Parenthood (a group that conducted the aborting of over 800 potential future students PER DAY in 2016). These groups see this as a lynchpin voting issue for the 2018 midterm elections. They will not hesitate to manipulate and use these students, who are exercising their rights, for the purpose of political gains for candidates of their choice.

Sixth, for all the “democracy starts now” talk that Hogg and others are touting, they clearly need a better education in U.S. history. While we’re at it, if they think that the GOP is the issue here and they’re going to vote for democrats thinking they’d do something about the issue, let’s back up to the Obama administration:

• During his first term Obama didn’t call for any major new restriction on guns or gun owners
• Obama signed only two major laws that address how guns are carried in America, and both actually expand the rights of gun owners**
• His 23 executive actions after the Sandy Hook shooting were executive actions, not orders – and contained no new laws or regulations

A variety of democrat Congressional members are out meeting with students to include Pelosi, Sanders, etc. – all of whom were part of the majority party under President Obama’s first two years. They could have passed laws and regulations, outlawed bump stocks, restricted sales of high capacity magazines, etc. They didn’t. Have any of these kids asked them why? Seriously. Why didn’t they do so then? Because they, like many GOP representatives, are first and foremost concerned about their job. Which shouldn’t be their career.

All in all, this effort is fraught with disaster. It’s going to be problematic to criticize because that will be twisted into being “anti school safety” (see point one above). I’m all for pursuing school safety. Let’s start with the enforcement and then see if we really have a legislative issue.

* – by universal, we really mean a national-level background check so that individual state checks don’t fall through the cracks. Much like our voter registration should be.

** – the first allows gun owners to carry weapons in national parks (replacing Reagan’s law that required them to be in locked glove compartments or trunks) and the second allows Amtrak passengers to carry guns in checked baggage (reversing a measure put in place in response to the 9-11 attack)

GorT

GorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ Century who routinely time-travels to steal expensive technology from the future and return it to the past for retroinvention. The profits from this pay all the Gormogons’ bills, including subsidizing this website. Some of the products he has introduced from the future include oven mitts, the Guinness widget, Oxy-Clean, and Dr. Pepper. Due to his immense cybernetic brain, GorT is able to produce a post in 0.023 seconds and research it in even less time. Only ’Puter spends less time on research. GorT speaks entirely in zeros and ones, but occasionally throws in a ڭ to annoy the Volgi. He is a massive proponent of science, technology, and energy development, and enjoys nothing more than taking the Czar’s more interesting scientific theories, going into the past, publishing them as his own, and then returning to take credit for them. He is the only Gormogon who is capable of doing math. Possessed of incredible strength, he understands the awesome responsibility that follows and only uses it to hurt people.