Speaking of Darkness: The National Rifle (Selling) Association

Winter                                                        Moon of the Winter Solstice

The NRA.  The cynicism continues.  Callous bondage to a rhetorical flourish, not even a true ideology.  “The only one who can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”  True, if you’re engaged in the act of arming everyone so they can be armed against everybody.  Not true if you shrink the availability of guns, the way many other countries have.

(The Nation)

Here are links to two profound articles in the NYT. Both appeared this week in response to the shootings in Newton.  Both come at the argument from a perspective you may not have encountered before.  These are articles by philosophers.  Let me know what you think.

The Weapons Continuum

By MICHAEL BOYLAN

Nuclear weapons can cause widespread death and destruction, so we ban them. Why do we allow such wide access to guns?

Why Gun ‘Control’ Is Not Enough

By JEFF MCMAHAN

A close look at the pro-gun stance leads to the conclusion that the United States should ban private gun ownership entirely, or almost entirely.