This was my comment left in response to the NYTimes article about the Oak Creek Shooting yesterday. Please let your elected officials know that gun control legislation must be addressed and quickly.
“Just because they see the turban they think you’re Taliban.”
I feel strongly that it is more of a “you’re not like me” issue than being focused on a particular religion.
I don’t want anyone to be singled out and targeted for harassment or death because they are immigrants, speak with an accent, dress differently, worship differently, etc. There is no excuse for that type of thinking anywhere, but particularly here in the USA where most of us are descendents of immigrants and where multi-culturalism and freedom of religion were founding tenets.
To strike out blindly against a group of people you know nothing about and to justify it with a cloak of patriotism or superiority labels you as not upholding the founding ideals of this country and pretty darn ignorant about too many things. To use severe force against unarmed people makes you a bully and murderer.
RE: Gun control. It should not be easy to obtain any gun and ammunition. No one has a need or right to own any automatic weaponry. We have armies with weaponry to defend us and only they should have access to such instruments. There is no reason for anyone to own such a weapon except to use it.
True patriots participate in their government on all levels, abiding by the laws of the land and bringing new laws to pass as needed. That is what we need now, to change the laws re gun ownership, not to suit the philosophy of any interest group but for the benefit of everyone and the country.
