Does This Sound Insane?

Do the following statements make sense to you?

• "Lots of people get cancer.  Lots of people die of cancer, every day.  Bad people get cancer.  So why bother trying to discover a cure for cancer?"
• "My kids have not died from lead paint poisoning on toys.  So why do we need laws that say we have to inspect toys for safe paint?"
• "I need apples.  I love them so much, I eat them every day.  I hope nobody comes and takes my apples, even if there's poison on them!"
• "If I give up my anthrax, then only outlaws will have anthrax. Besides--trust me, I know what I'm doing."
• "I blame obesity on all those food ads on television, 24/7.  Get rid of televisions, and you will cure obesity."
• "Nobody in my family has been hurt on an amusement park ride.  So, I know my kids are safe at the county fair.  Nobody needs any laws that say we need to inspect those rides."
• "Bombs don't kill people.  People kill people.  If we outlaw bombs, only outlaws will have bombs."
• "I have a right to my gun.  It's mine, and the government can't interfere....But that woman over there?  She has NO right to make decisions about her own body.  The government needs to step in and put a stop to that."
• "I don't listen to statistics or those "medical experts".  Me and my friends have played with poisonous snakes our whole lives, and nothing bad has ever happened."
• "People drink and drive all the time.  Nobody I know has died from an accident with a drunk driver.  What do we need with laws against drunk driving?  My kids are never going to drink and drive.  My kids are never going to be killed by a drunk driver.  NEVER."
• "Why do I care if there's laws about domestic abuse?  I live alone.  Besides, I'm too busy.  Don't make me think about that."
• "I bought my car.  I have a right to that car I bought.  I might need that car, to drive my family to safety when the government tries to take over, and confiscates my car.  I heard they might do that.   I'm a safe driver, and everyone I know is a safe driver.  Why do we need to have "special" laws that control driving?  The government has no right to make me take a test, get a license, or register my car--it's none of their business!  Oh.....um...." 

Change a few of the words, or sentiments, in the quotes above, and your arguments against common-sense gun laws sound just as silly.

Answer this for me--how is it that parents, who have lost their children so recently that the catatonic look is still on their faces, are able to go to Washington, and fight for you?  So that you will never, ever feel what they do?  How is it that they care about someone they've never met, and yet you've allowed them to be  demonized--you believe "They want to take away my guns!!"?  

And answer me this--how is it that a woman, who struggles to walk, and can hardly speak, gets herself to Washington, over and over and over again, to speak out for you, so that you will never know her kind of suffering--how is it that she's doing that, and you can't be bothering to reach over, pick up the phone, and call your member of Congress?  How is it that it's too much effort for you?

The time has come to do something.  Doing nothing is not an option any more.  The government will not come and take your gun away.  I repeat--the government will NOT come and take your gun away.  But some common sense regulations WILL save lives--maybe your own.  Or the life of your child.  

Do you care?  I do.  I care, because I care about you.  And it would kill me to have to look into your grief-stricken eyes someday, knowing that I did not do all I could to protect you from the pain of gun violence.  Believe me, I've seen grief-stricken eyes, and I wish I never had.