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No, Charlie, it's not worth those gun deaths. Including yours. [1]
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Date: 2025-09-10
I don't wish death on anyone. That's an expression of hatred, and one of the problems with our hatred is that when a person does something we hate, we respond by directing our hatred at the entire person (or, worse, an entire group), not at the act that triggers our hatred.
And that's exactly why we have mass shootings. Hatred is an emotional response. Every single mass shooting has been an emotional act. Emotions and firearms are a dangerous combination.
As humans, we have emotions, which is not a bad thing in itself. In some cases it's a necessary survival mechanism, and in other cases it can bring people closer together. But in all cases they can lead us to overreact before the initial feelings settle down a bit and reasoning has a chance to kick in and regulate our responses.
And that process takes time. We often do and say things we regret during that time, leaving our reasoning mind to then have to focus on damage control. Literally dozens of bullets can be fired in even the minimum time it takes to bring our emotions back under control and respond to them in a constructive manner. One may be able to take back something said in the heat of the moment, but bullets can't be taken back.
We can't stop humans from having emotions, and we can't shut them off when they happen. That's why we need to have gun control.
I couldn't stand what Charlie Kirk stood for. And I can't stand the damage Donald Trump is doing to our democracy and our country. That damage may be irreparable, but I can't wish death on him nor anyone else. It's never a solution.
The Second Amendment that Kirk infamously said was "worth some gun deaths every year" is arguably outdated. It was written before our country had a standing army. I suspect neither Kirk nor any of the so-called "Second Amendment defenders" ever bothered to read the first thirteen words of the amendment. The words that literally define the need for reason and not emotion in the same hands that hold those firearms. (And it's also arguably misread. While it says that "the right to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed," it says nothing about a right to OWN them. It can certainly be argued that the firearms were considered to be the collective property of the militia that was the only "army" at the time.)
We can count on the murder of Charlie Kirk to energize the right wing. And I suspect we can count on an increase in gun violence (maybe even cries for civil war) by some in response.
Yep, another emotional response. By people holding firearms.
Son of a gun.
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