[/Begin rant]
Its intriguing to me how many people are willing to simply hand over their liberties to the government without even being asked for them.
Generally I dislike ad hominem attacks against an opponent, but editorials like these make me seriously question the character and intelligence of my fellow Americans. Too often people take the easy route to decision-making and opinion-forming: emotion. "Do what feels right" is an intellectual plague, especially in matters of civil liberty, government, and politics. Of course, feeling is easier than thinking and the enlightened paragons of virtue who authored these editorials cannot be bothered with the burden of actually defending a controversial or unpopular civil liberty. Even asking why these rights exist in the first place or how infringement upon them could be abused is too much to ask. Such questions have become "cold" "callous" and "outdated" in the face of "such clear human suffering caused by firearms, and the unique social issues of the 21st century" and other watered-down versions of the same drivel.
If you are too weak to stand up for your unpopular rights (the ones you have to get off your butt and WORK to protect), how can I possibly take you seriously when you claim to stand for the warmer and fuzzier ones like free speech and expression, protection from cruel and unusual punishment, public & impartial trial by jury, etc? How can you discuss the topic of American individual freedom with a straight face? People who write editorials like this allow themselves to be led around by the nose with emotion through the opinions and slick words of others. They will forever be slaves to warm feelings and Utopian half-logic spouted from the nearest politician, pundit, "political analyst", or media personality. People who choose to live like sheep deserve whatever scraps their "benevolent" government throws them from the table.
Fortunately, the cure is simple: think for yourself! Understand the concept of liberty and why NO portion of the Bill of Rights can be sacrificed without sacrificing the very nature of the document itself! Then look in the mirror and understand that you have an inherent human right to defend yourself, your loved ones, and your property and NO ONE can take that from you, for ANY reason.
Any attempt to do so (under any guise) is an attempt to make you less than human.
[/End rant]
A bit melodramatic perhaps? I may have gotten carried away, but that pretty much sums up my distaste for the hard-core gun controllers ^.^