Common Sense

I have sworn off of political commentary on my Facebook page, but not on my blog. I question if what I am writing about today is political commentary. I prefer to think of it as common sense and since I have not sworn off of that I will continue writing.

Gun Control.

Now that I have your attention, now that I have riled you up, I’ll promise right off the bat that I do not, I repeat, do not want to deprive you of your right to own a gun. What I’m writing about today is James Holmes and why he had an AR-15 semi-automatic assault weapon with 100 rounds of ammunition. If you own an assault weapon then I retract my earlier promise, I do want to take away your gun.

I am not an expert on Constitutional Law, but I did Google the Second Amendment and noted that it was adopted in 1791 and reads: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. Okay, here comes the common sense thing – in 1791 who could have fathomed our current-day semi-automatic assault weapon?

What I’m trying to say is that the citizens of the United States of America do not need to keep and bear assault weapons. We do not need them to deer hunt. We do not need them for competitive shooting. We do not need them to protect our lives and our property. Who does need an assault weapon? Someone like James Holmes. Someone who wants to kill a lot of people as quickly as possible.

Another reason I’m writing this goes back to Facebook. After the shooting there were many posts asking for prayers for the victims and the good people of Aurora, Colorado. I think prayers are fine, but not one single Facebook post on my page said anything about the gun laws that allowed this person to buy an AR-15 semi-automatic assault weapon in the first place.

Keep your guns for sport and protection, but please let’s find a way to keep assault weapons out of the hands of people who would use them in a manner our Second Amendment writers could not have imagined.

I am certain I have sparked controversy. I am certain many of my readers are against gun control. I am certain many will see this as Democrat vs. Republican, liberal vs. conservative, left vs. right. I am certain that if changes are not made there will be more massacres. It is common sense.

Apple

I’ve been thinking a lot about my mother this week. She died in 1991 at the age of fifty-seven, but before she left us she was a wonderful grandmother to my daughters. My oldest daughter Courtney, the oldest grandchild, had the pleasure of knowing her the best. Courtney visited me these past two weeks with her daughter, the first and so far the only grandchild. We reminisced about my mother, about how much she loved Courtney and about how much Courtney loved her.

Courtney recalled making a childhood announcement that when she grew up she wanted to marry MaMaw. No amount of reasoning could dissuade her from this idea. It wasn’t until my mother asked, “But who would fix PaPaw’s dinner?” that Courtney finally realized she could not marry the person she loved most in the world. Fortunately, she later found someone she loved as much.

I reminded Courtney of an incident that occurred at the airport when she was about five years old. As we boarded the plane for home after visiting my parents Courtney was bereft about leaving. She sobbed and wailed in a most melodramatic fashion during our goodbyes and the entire flight. I’m sure the other airline passengers were happy when we were no longer sharing cabin space. I was excruciatingly embarrassed, but now I find myself secretly hoping that my granddaughter will have similar feelings upon leaving me one day.

The two weeks I spent with my grandbaby were priceless. At seven months old I doubt she remembers me from previous visits so we had to go through the getting to know each other process again. On the second day, when she gave me an ear to ear grin as I got her out of her crib, my heart filled so that I truly did feel my chest expand. We got along just fine, she and I, while her mother sequestered herself to study for the New York bar exam. Every day I learned a little more about this precious child. She laughs at the pat-a-cake song (or my singing), she doesn’t like to nap unless we are strolling through my neighborhood, and she enjoys a frequent change of scenery. I will see her again in September and I can’t wait to discover more about her.

The love between a grandmother and a granddaughter is a special thing. I had my Big Red and my daughters had their MaMaw. I have learned from the best. My grandmother name is Apple (because I am a Granny Smith); I hope I’m a good one.