Clearwater (WTFF) – The Mayor of Clearwater proposed a ban on “assault weapons” and high capacity ammunition on Monday, saying the city needed to “do more than thoughts and prayers.”
“I’ve gone to church, I’ve prayed,” Mayor George Cretekos said to fellow City Council members.
“My prayers aren’t working,” he admitted, as if he were expecting a different result.
Instead of addressing the origins of violence after his revelation, he instead proposed banning “military-style” assault weapons and high capacity magazines, without even defining what exactly “assault weapons” are.
The City Council approved a modified version of the resolution on Thursday. It called on Congress to pass new gun control measures, but did not include the ban on “assault weapons” that Mayor George Cretekos originally wrote. (Tampa Bay Times)
The final resolution included calls for the expansion of red flag laws and stricter background checks. Instead of an outright ban, it called for a “review of laws governing the accessibility of high-capacity ammunition magazines and military-style assault weapons.”
Gun bans are an attack on marginalized communities
Gun control laws in the United States are historically racist, and throughout the world they are used to oppress the poor and working-class.
“Throughout much of American history, gun control was openly stated as a method for keeping blacks and Hispanics ‘in their place,’ and to quiet the racial fears of whites,” Clayton Cramer wrote in his 1993 article, The Racist Roots of Gun Control.
Failing to address the current white supremacy problem, while also making efforts to disarm marginalized communities, is an extension of historically racist gun laws.
Of course, “the story is very complex,” said Saul Cornell, a professor at Fordham University and researcher who focuses on the history of gun control. “Saying gun laws are always racist is just false. Saying that gun laws have never been racist is also just wrong.” (Al Jazeera)
Strict gun control measures threaten “the inherit right of every individual and community to defend themselves from those who exploit or oppress them.” (Redneck Revolt)
While many Democrats, like Beto O’Rourke, support attacking the rights of marginalized communities and working class citizens, parties that align further left and right tend to support the right to bear arms, such as Socialist nominee Brian Moore. Here’s a 2008 quote from him via On The Issues:
“Many workers have died at the hands of the local police, the Army and privately hired goons. Workers and citizens will most likely need access to guns for defense, since the wealthy and corporate power can be counted on to use all manner of violence to prevent any radical or revolutionary change that would mean their overthrow or loss of power & control.”
Socialist Party USA 2008 Candidate – Brian Moore
While Mainstream Media tends to paint Socialists and Communists as “gun grabbers,” in reality, they have always positioned themselves as the vanguard of our liberties. Socialist groups such as the Irish Republican Army have used firearms to defend their freedom. Here’s a quote from Karl Marx, year 1850:
“Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary.”
Karl Marx
Dictators like Stalin corrupted the word “Communism” with their totalitarian Capitalist regimes masquerading as Communist societies. It’s vital that we expose the Republican and Democratic party leaders who aim to impose similar regimes upon the United States.
As politicians push to disarm the proletariat today, we should look to history for answers, and focus on facts as we come up with rational solutions to the issue of violence.
Mass shootings are just one symptom of much greater problems in our society.
Banning guns is not only an ineffective knee-jerk reaction to our current crises, but a direct attack on our liberty and freedom.
Firearms are NOT the cause of violence.
If we’re serious about tackling the issue of mass shootings, we must address the primary causes, such as:
- Alienation
- Consumerism
- Economic desperation
- Lack of universal healthcare
- Reactionary politics
All of the above problems can be traced back to greed, and the effective vehicle of greed, Capitalism.
Banning physical objects is entirely useless against such forces. Not only is it a direct attack on the proletariat, but it’s ineffective, as we can literally print guns at home now. The year is 2019. Let’s start facing reality and fixing our societal problems using intelligence.
LOL, you ignorant ammosexuals and your worn out catch phrases . . . guns don’t kill people . . . Stalin disarmed his population . . . banning guns is a knee-jerk reaction? Once a country has suffered thousands have been killed is not “knee-jerk.” Banning them after one mass shooting as Australia and New Zealand did is. Oh and that worked for both of those countries and their government has not killed them either.
I’m not sure where to even start with this one…
“…high-capacity ammunition magazines and military-style assault weapons.” How much more definition does he need to provide?