"Now Is Not The Time"

If not now, when?

   Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 1, 2017 -- 59 dead, 500+ wounded.
"Now is not the time" to talk about gun control, said the president and other political leaders.

   Tucson, Arizona, Jan. 8, 2011 -- Six dead, 11 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
   Not the time to talk about gun violence.

   Seal Beach, California, Oct 12, 2011 -- Eight dead.
   Not the time yet.

   Oakland, California, April 2, 2012 -- Seven dead in a college classroom.
   Not the time.

   Aurora, Colorado, July 20, 2012 -- Twelve dead, 58 wounded in a movie theater.
   Not the time.

   Oak Creek, Wisconsin, August 5, 2012 -- Six slain by a white supremacist at a religious temple.
   Now is not the time.

   Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012 -- Twenty children, six adults dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
   Not the time.
  
   Washington, DC, September 16, 2013 -- Twelve people shot dead at a Navy Yard.
   Not time yet to talk about gun violence.

   Fort Hood, Texas, April 2, 2014 -- Three dead, 16 wounded.
   Not time yet.

   Isla Vista, California, April 5, 2014 -- Six slain at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
   Not the time to talk about gun control.

   Charleston, South Carolina, June 18, 2015 -- Nine people shot dead in a church by a white supremacist.
   Not the time.

   Roseburg, Oregon, October 1, 2015 -- Nine slain at a community college.
   Not the time to talk.

   Colorado Springs, Colorado, November 29, 2015 -- Three slain at a Planned Parenthood clinic.
   No time for talk.

   San Bernardino, California, December 12, 2015 -- Fourteen killed at a community center.
   Not the time to talk. Donald Trump denounces "political correctness" of anti-gun talk.

   Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016 -- 49 dead, 58 wounded at a gay night club.
   Not yet time to talk.

   Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963 -- President John F. Kennedy slain by a man who bought a sniper rifle by mail order for $12.78.
   Washington, DC, March 30, 1981 -- President Ronald Reagan shot and wounded.
   New York City, December 8, 1980 -- John Lennon shot and killed.
   Alexandria, Virginia, June 14, 2017 -- Rep. Steve Scalise shot during baseball practice.

   Over the years, four U.S. presidents have been assassinated by gunfire: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy. Ten others were shot but survived.

   There are more guns in America than there are people, with a few owning many guns. The shooter in Las Vegas brought 19 weapons with him to his hotel room, and investigators found 23 more at his home.
   More Americans have been killed by guns than have died in all its wars combined.
      
   But now is not the time to talk, because it "politicizes" the tragedy of gun violence, say some government leaders.
   Yes, it does "politicize" the issue, as well it should, and it must. Gun violence is indeed a political issue, and can only be dealt with through political measures.
   Yet the NRA would have us believe that the answer lies in more guns, more powerful guns, held by more people, including children whose weapons would have silencers to "protect their hearing."
   And they insist that "Guns don't kill people. People kill people."
   Correction: People use guns to kill people.

   Finally, the U.S. Constitution is right when it acknowledges the right of the people of a state to have a "well regulated militia" to protect its security.
   That does not acknowledge the right of every individual to own dozens of fully automatic machine guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
   Unless he is a member of a well regulated militia. The Las Vegas shooter was not, nor were the many others responsible for the killings listed above.