Child Safety Locks are the Pitts According to Joe
Joe Pitts, Congressman from the 16th Congressional District (Lancaster, Chester and Berks) has signed on to Marilyn Musgrave's crusade against child safety locks for guns. In a recent editorial The New York Times said this about the Second Amendment Caucus:
This means these lawmakers have no respect for the sanctity of life, especially the lives of children. According to The Times ten children are killed every day by gun violence. Each year then 3,650 of our children are killed, more than died on September 11, 2001. Let's put this in perspective. Because 3,000 Americans were killed in an attack we've sacrificed another 2550 dead soldiers, many thousands critically wounded, and spent $300 billion on the effort. But these legislators refuse to allow the government to enforce a common sense law to protect our children, 16,500 of whom have died since September 11th.
Why doesn't Joe Pitts care about our children? Because he cares more about the Second Amendment. It doesn't matter that guns are specifically designed and manufactured solely for the purpose of killing people. These extremists equate the regulation of gun safety with toys:
That statement is so absurd as to make me speculate as to her sanity. First of all, handguns have only one use: to kill and maim humans. You cannot compare them to cleaning solutions, medicines or swimming pools, which, by the way, are regulated by government with child safety caps, fences and warnings. We entrust our government and lawmakers with enacting common sense laws and regulations to protect our children and even ourselves from our own stupidity. We allow seat belt laws, air bags in our cars, helmet laws for motorcyclists, etc. because the costs to society otherwise is prohibitive. Costs both in health care and lives.
Why do we refuse to protect our children? Why does Joe Pitts refuse to protect our children by signing on to this action? This is common sense legislation and Joe Pitts is showing he has no common sense.
He's the Pitts. Vote for Herr.
Childproof trigger locks on handguns should rank somewhere near mom and apple pie as a measure of the nation's wholesome dedication to life. But not in the House of Representatives, where the gun lobby cowed lawmakers into actually barring the use of federal funds to enforce an existing law that requires child trigger locks to be sold with all handguns.
This means these lawmakers have no respect for the sanctity of life, especially the lives of children. According to The Times ten children are killed every day by gun violence. Each year then 3,650 of our children are killed, more than died on September 11, 2001. Let's put this in perspective. Because 3,000 Americans were killed in an attack we've sacrificed another 2550 dead soldiers, many thousands critically wounded, and spent $300 billion on the effort. But these legislators refuse to allow the government to enforce a common sense law to protect our children, 16,500 of whom have died since September 11th.
Why doesn't Joe Pitts care about our children? Because he cares more about the Second Amendment. It doesn't matter that guns are specifically designed and manufactured solely for the purpose of killing people. These extremists equate the regulation of gun safety with toys:
According to Rep. Marilyn Musgrave: "Many things around the home are dangerous when used without instruction or parental supervision, but it is not the government's job or responsibility to mandate every conceivable protective mechanism imaginable."
That statement is so absurd as to make me speculate as to her sanity. First of all, handguns have only one use: to kill and maim humans. You cannot compare them to cleaning solutions, medicines or swimming pools, which, by the way, are regulated by government with child safety caps, fences and warnings. We entrust our government and lawmakers with enacting common sense laws and regulations to protect our children and even ourselves from our own stupidity. We allow seat belt laws, air bags in our cars, helmet laws for motorcyclists, etc. because the costs to society otherwise is prohibitive. Costs both in health care and lives.
Why do we refuse to protect our children? Why does Joe Pitts refuse to protect our children by signing on to this action? This is common sense legislation and Joe Pitts is showing he has no common sense.
He's the Pitts. Vote for Herr.
posted by PA progressive @ Sunday, July 09, 2006
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