What is one issue I will concede that the right wing has won the argument for?
Guns.
The right wing has successfully mastered the art of the smear when it comes to this subject. They say all left wingers want to “take your guns”, and leave you defenseless while only criminals have arms, and therefore will murder you and your grandma while you watch old episodes of “The Price is Right” together.
They say that we stage mass shootings so that we can then pass legislation that will take away the rights of law abiding citizens, which again, leads to only the “bad guys” with straps, so therefore you need a gun too so you can be a hero, like the OG Bun B.
Meanwhile, in real life, after all those mass shootings that stupid libtards say could be prevented or at minimum slowed down with common sense regulation, nothing got passed. Background check just to make sure only law abiding citizens of sound mind can obtain weapons? Nope. Ban on high capacity magazines, but NOT the guns that use them? Nah bruh. Assault weapons ban (Assault weapon being defined as “semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns that are able to accept detachable magazines and possess one or more other features.”) Of course not.
Here’s the thing.
I get it. I’m from Detroit. I have friends from Chicago, Compton, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore…basically anywhere considered “the hood” or “dangerous”. These places have high rates of gun violence. So it makes plenty sense to carry a weapon in these environments, knowing that the number of sticks in the area is probably high. Gotta protect yourself, and as the old saying goes, “Never bring a knife to a gun fight.”
Expanding on that point, I now live in Arizona, which has some of the loosest gun laws on Earth in America. We are also the 11thWORST state in the country when measuring gun deaths. It’s almost like, where there are more guns, there is more gun related death. But even knowing that, I understand the emotional need for a gun, especially in a state where you KNOW everyone’s packing, and not scared to fire. You never want to be out gunned, especially if you have a family or any loved ones you want to protect.
This is why I’m torn. The progressive in me wants to simply use the numbers to convince people that gun regulation is a good thing and will reduce the number of overall gun deaths. The Detroit n*gga in me wants to go buy a .40 right now. I know that if I was Bun B in that same situation, I’d be very thankful to have heat in the house. But I also know that guns are rarely used in self-defense, and are way more likely to inflict harm on self or others.
So what do we do? This is America, and G-Unit’s “Buddy” isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I’m honestly torn on this, and have been for a while. All I know is that nobody I’ve seen on the left has flat out advocated for a gun ban, but for some reason that lie has stuck with us. First, we should work on messaging that shows moderates and center-right people that regulation doesn’t equal a ban. Then, we get some progressives in congress who aren’t scared of republican backlash or the NRA. Then finally, we pass Medicare for All and include mental health checks, so that way when the next mass shooting happens, right wingers can’t just blame mental health for it. Until then…
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