Do You Have Your 鈥淢an Card鈥�?
I had no idea I needed to have my “Man Card” reissued until recently.
I happened to visit a website that told me that “to become a card- carrying man,” I would have to answer a series of “manhood” questions. If I passed the test, I’d then be issued a “Man Card” that I can show to my friends and family. I found this rather peculiar promotion on the website for weapons supplier — Bushmaster.
Bushmaster, as you may know, is also the supplier of a .233 AR-15 Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle that was used by the mass murderer in Newtown, Ct. I’ve even found an old ad for a Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle with the only words “Consider Your Man Card Reissued.” In light of recent events, that ad, and that “test,” are saddening.
To market a weapon that only has a few lawful uses, as some kind of artificial boost to a man’s testosterone levels, to me, is no trade-off for the mothers and fathers in this country who will continue to bury their children.
To hell with your manhood. When that crazed gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School, he sent shockwaves across the world, and he ignited a debate that had been long overdue.
Twenty children died that day. But that night, across this country, there may have been that many, or more, who died because some gunman thought a gun solved some problem. Guns only solve problems in the movies. In real life they cause them.
There’ve been some defenders of automatic weapons who claim that even more guns should be in the hands of law abiding citizens who could stop these mass murders within seconds. If that was the case, then consider this: There have been 62 mass shootings in this country since 1982. Not one of them ended after a gun-wielding, potential victim shot a bad guy. Not one.
Then there are those Republicans who’ve benefited because the National Rifle Association helped bankroll their election and re-election efforts, because as candidates and legislators, they loudly cling-fast to the 2nd Amendment.
A clear indication that the importance of Newtown won’t fade after a few news cycles is the fact that two days after the killings, 31 pro-gun rights U.S. Senators were asked to a appear on NBC’s Meet the Press. But 31 pro-gun rights U.S. Senators refused to appear.
The usual bluster exhibited by the NRA, and usually by its CEO and Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre, didn’t materialize. Perhaps LaPierre’s “Man Card” has expired. Back in 2011, though, and after President Obama’s only actions involving guns was to expand gun owner’s rights to federal parks and to Amtrak trains, LaPierre called him a liar who was conspiring to take everybody’s guns away.
“The president will offer the 2nd Amendment lip service and hit the campaign trail and actually say he’s actually been good for the 2nd Amendment. But it’s a big fat stinking lie. Just like all the other lies that have come out of this corrupt administration,” he said at a rostrum at that year’s CPAC convention in Florida.
LaPierre, and the gun owners who hang on his every word, believe that of all of the rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, the right to bear arms is absolute.
We know that you can’t yell fire in a crowded theater is the example of how the right of free speech is limited. Or, try threatening to do bodily injury, and when the police come, tell them you were just exercising your free speech rights.
Don’t be surprised if the next sound you hear is, “Get down, and put your hands behind your back,” and the next sound you hear is “click.”
There are no absolute rights in the Constitution. The right to bear arms has its limits, too. Especially since it was built upon the belief that people can keep and bear arms to ensure, someday, we might join something called a “well-regulated militia.”
I don’t think I’m up for that. I don’t own a “Man Card.”
Edward A. Owens is a three time Emmy Award winner and 20 year veteran of television news. Email him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net