Guns, TSA, and Airports

The shooting at LAX over the weekend is not surprising and it is not a random event.  That is the spin the NRA has used to make what has been common and now is increasingly reported on common place.  It is not unusual and it is not random.  Gun violence has long been with us, but so long as it was confined to poor neighborhoods, gang feuds, drug trafficking, and other less than savory corners of society we could pretend it would not happen to us.  We just needed to avoid buying cocaine and wearing gang colors, stay in our middle class neighborhoods and not let it be part of our lives.

Not so any more.  School shootings are common.  Hundreds of children will be killed in America this year, just like they were last year.  And more and more, people are carrying guns.  Why would someone take a gun to an airport?  Well, it is not an isolated event.  In 2012 TSA confiscated 1500 guns in people's carry on luggage.  This year it is estimated that number will be 1800, and it has already surpassed last years numbers.  The states where it is more common are exactly what you would expect--states that allow open carry.  So it is time to get real about this--contact your representatives and let them know how you feel, and get ready for more of the same if we do not change this tide.