Talk show host Geraldo Rivera went off on an epic rant Thursday. His topic was the Second Amendment, which he called “blind and stupid.” He referred to shooting enthusiasts as “all-around dim bulbs” and “gun nuts.”
As someone who has been trained in the law, he should know better; as someone who calls himself a Republican, he should maybe rethink his position–or at least do a little research on the subject before giving his knee-jerk reaction.
He chose his Facebook page as the medium for his rant, which began:
Like I always say, the 2nd Amendment, the provision that gives every American the right to keep and bear arms, is blind and stupid.
In its relentless pimping for the gun industry, the NRA has unleashed an avalanche of deadly weapons on this gun-crazy country. Just as protects access to weapons for cops and hunters, it also protects access to weapons for domestic abusers, mental patients, jerk-offs on the no-fly list, all-around dim bulbs, and now little children.
OK, let’s stop there for a little breather. Far from being “blind and stupid,” the Second Amendment fulfills and important function–self defense–against both the criminal element and an oppressive government. It has nothing to do with “cops and hunters.”
Secondly, the National Rifle Association’s mission isn’t to pimp “for the gun industry.” It’s to protect the Constitution–especially the Second Amendment–and to train the public in the safe handling and use of firearms.
Finally, the Second Amendment does not offer protection for violent criminals or the mental patients. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System was specifically designed to prevent them from purchasing firearms. If there’s a flaw in the system, it’s from those states that cite privacy concerns for refusing to include the names of “mental patients.”
As for “little children,” now we get to the true basis for Rivera’s rant. He continues:
As the father of a sweet, smart nine year old daughter myself, the latest example of gross excess is the image of that pony-tailed New Jersey girl accidentally killing her gun range instructor. It is obscene and uncivilized to let a third grader shoot a fully automatic Uzi machine gun. What was she training for, revolution? Invasion? Service in the coming post-apocalyptic social disorder? Stupid, but just another of countless examples of how far into insanity we have let the gun nuts push us.
Rivera’s referring to the accidental shooting death of firearm instructor Charles Vacca at an Arizona gun range while teaching the 9-year-old girl. The weapon was a fully automatic 9-mm Israeli-made Uzi submachine gun.
An instructor is now dead and a little girl is traumatized.
“To put an Uzi in the hands of a 9-year-old … is extremely reckless, ” law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes said, according to CNN.
I couldn’t agree more, and I can’t imagine what possessed Vacca to do it. A case could be made for allowing a youngster to fire a mounted automatic weapon with stops to prevent it from swiveling around. Bot not a hand-held as in this instance.
But beyond that, the tragedy had nothing to do with either the Second Amendment or the National Rifle Association.
