Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) says she has received multiple death threats over legislation she is working on to make sure gun owners have insurance…. “Yesterday, several death threats were phoned into my New York office in response to news reports about a bill I authored requiring gun owners to have insurance,” the congresswoman said in a statement Wednesday morning. “The calls were fielded by young interns, who were understandably shaken by this experience.”…. Maloney told the New York Daily News that the threats came in three menacing phone calls, which left her so disturbed she ended up missing a planned awards dinner Tuesday night…. “They said they were going to kill me,” she told the paper…. In her statement, Maloney said she’s proud of her work to stem gun violence and strongly supports President Obama’s gun control initiatives. “100,000 Americans are injured by guns every year,” she said. “Carrying insurance is the responsible thing to do.”
I generally disagree with Conservatives and most of what they stand for…but that doesn’t mean I have the right to threaten them. That’s America. We disagree. We argue. We shout. We scream. Hy, that’s part and parcel of democracy, right? It seems that a significant number of gun nuts didn’t get the memo, because they believe they have the right to threaten those whom they (usually incorrectly) feel want to take away their guns. When you threaten gun control supporters with death, you’ve pretty much gone ahead and proven their argument for them. If threats and violence are your way of dealing with those who support gun control at the expense of your untouchable, sacrosanct 2nd Amendment…yeah, you’ve just demonstrated that you shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a firearm.
In this case, the gun nuts are threatening Rep. Carolyn Maloney (R-NY), who’s not trying to take away anyone’s guns. Far from it. All Maloney’s doing is pushing legislation that would require gun owners to carry insurance. That’s a reason to threaten the life of a Congresswoman? If you drive a car, you’re required to have insurance; Maloney’s idea is little different. All her bill would do is require gun owners to demonstrate a minimum level of responsibility. Yet there are those so inflexibly devoted the the status quo that they refuse to even consider the possibility that they can’t continue doing exactly what they want and how they want to do it.
Despite what gun nuts continue to scream at us, the 2nd Amendment is neither sacrosanct nor immutable. Their “rights” to their gun was not bestowed upon them by God His Own Self. Society has the right to institute laws and requirement designed to help keep Americans safe while still respecting the rights of gun owners under the 2nd Amendment. Fortunately, the gun nuts make up only a small segment of America’s gun owners, and most who support gun rights are reasonable sorts who believe their rights don’t supercede society’s right to protect itself. Unfortunately, there’s a small, vocal, and exceedingly unbalanced minority who view ANY attempt at gun control to be a reason for armed insurrection. Most Americans shun guns, but the fearful and ignorant keep buying more. Now they’re threatening a Congresswoman for the unforgivable sin of wanting gun owners to behave responsibly. Way to convincingly make your case….
Stay classy,eh? You know, if you think it appropriate to make death threats against those who support gun control, well…with any luck your guns WILL be taken from you. You deserve nothing less; under no circumstance should you be allowed anywhere near a firearm.
