Liberals Have Guns Too, Ya Know...

by Stephen Pizzo

So, the latest way the wing-nut right has found to get everyone's attention is to show up heavy at healthcare town hall meetings. I don't know what loaded guns have to do with healthcare reform, but there they are, AR15's hanging on the shoulders of men in baseball caps, 9mm semi-automatic pistolas strapped, Bruce Willis-style, on their upper thighs. All loaded for ... what? Bear? Deer? Muskrats? Dingos?

Dunno. But there they are, loaded for something - prancing around with their hardware fully exposed with a, "mine is bigger than yours," swagger. And "I got a honkin' bad, uncircumcised assault rifle." (With flash supressor.)

Right wingers are always fretting about how liberals are on the verge of taking their guns away. Which makes me wonder if they realized how many liberals out here are just as well armed as they are? Because we are. And, take it from me as a life-long liberal, I know liberals far better than right wingers do and taking your guns away is not on the mainstream progressive agenda.

So, we liberal gun owners don't lay awake nights, stroking our guns, waiting for black helicopters to sweep in with storm troopers there to wrench our guns from our "cold dead fingers." We know that's not about to happen, at least as long as we don't abuse our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. (Civics Lesson: Every right in the constitution can only exist as long as those granted those rights don't abuse them... like yelling "fire" in a crowded theater --- or shooting up town hall meetings... just saying.)

Right wingers seem to think that only their kind appreciate the heft of a well-made gun. Wrong. As I already noted, many liberals own guns, often more than one. And, if I could dare to speak for fellow liberal gun-owners, here's how we view our firearm(s):

We view our gun the very same way we view the fire extinguisher we keep in case there's a fire. I'd feel pretty foolish, even irresponsible, if a fire broke out in our kitchen and I didn't have an extinguisher right at hand before it spread and burned our house down. Likewise, I'd feel pretty foolish if someone broke into my house in the middle of the night and I didn't have a way to protect myself and my family. (Knock wood, I've never had a fire or break-in, but both can and do happen, and I'm ready for either.)

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/23431