The New Wild West

Amny Goodman spoke with Brian Siebel of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, on the swift and virulent reaction to the Virginia Tech shootings by the Gun lobbyists:

AMY GOODMAN: Talk about your findings today in this aftermath of the shootings at Virginia Tech.

BRIAN SIEBEL: Well, what we point out is, we didn't even know who had been shot at Virginia Tech, when several gun lobby organizations put out press releases calling for students and teachers on college campuses to be armed. You know, I think they would like it to give everybody a gun and start the crossfire. I think that's their solution to this kind of tragedy. Of course, we totally disagree with that. And the report is designed to draw attention to their campaign. It follows on the heels of another campaign that the gun lobby has been pushing, which is to force guns into workplaces. They have supported bills in a number of states to bar employers from keeping guns out of employees' cars. We think that's again just a kind of foot-in-the-door effort that ultimately they would like to see guns essentially everywhere in society.

One has to ask whether the aim of such a line of thinking is to reduce the overall potential for violence or to provide the means for instant and deadly vigilante justice to be administered in a situation such as the rampage at Virginia Tech or the Columbine shootings under the guise of "self defense".

Doc Holiday: "What the hell's that all about, Creek?"

'Turkey Creek' Jack Johnson: "He crawfished a bet and called me a liar."

Doc Holiday: "Sheriff, may I present a pair of fellow sophisticates: Turkey Creek Jack Johnson, Texas Jack Vermillion. Watch your ear, Creek."

Tombstone Marshall Fred White: "Afraid I'll have to have those guns."

Johnson: "It was a fair fight."

Jack Vermillion: "We was legal."

White: "I'm sorry, boys. I gotta take 'em before Judge Spicer. Hand 'em over."

Vermillion: "Law and order every time, that's us."

-Tombstone, 1993