The Love We Lost

The Love We Lost
Originally uploaded by lorenzodom

December 3, 2008, New York City:

HAPPINESS IS NON-VIOLENT: Taking a Stand on Gun Control

I have long been an advocate of, a believer in and a preacher for the practice of non-violence both as a call-to-action and an action-plan; as a philosophy and a religion; as well as a personal mantra and national anthem.

Hence, my revelry this morning when I heard Mayor Mike’s clarion call:

“The gun law is designed to send a message—DON’T CARRY A GUN.”

Yay! Mike!

Yay! Mayor Bloomberg!

10-10 News had reported that Hizoner, New York City’s Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, was taking a stern stance on gun control in light of the recent gun charges against New York Giants’ linebacker, Plaxico Burress, who accidentally shot himself in the leg with his own handgun, which he had carried into the Latin Quarter nightclub on Friday night.

Thank you Mike.

I couldn’t agree more with his position, because I strongly believe that we are living in the stone-age here in the U.S. when it comes to gun control laws, because the U.S. is practically the last place on earth, or at least in the western hemisphere, where individuals can carry hand-guns.

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Happiness is gun control.

Happiness is anger management.

Happiness is non-violent.

As I was riding on the train home yesterday, reflecting on the musing I had just posted about on the right for all of us to enjoy one of the basic tenets of the Declaration of Independence—Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness—I also thought it would be equally important for me to speak my peace on the controversial debate over the interpretation of the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms.

That is, should the amendment be interpreted as "individuals have the right to posses weapons as a means of self-defense," or is it merely a "state’s right to form a militia"?

Back in 1776 there was no established and organized law enforcement—there were no sheriffs or police officers or National Guard even.

Hence, whereas in 1776 we were just beginning to come together as a society— people were still venturing into the unknown, pioneering the land and staking their claims in the wild-wild west—232 years later there is truly little-to-no need for a single person to bear arms.

Today, we have in force an intricate system of law enforcement which not only includes the policeman on the beat, but everything from meter maids, security cameras and a supreme court, as well as hundreds of thousands of laws and rules and tidbits of legislation that regulate society at all levels—national, provincial and municipal.

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Gun control is a particularly important issue considering that alongside this good news, a new report from the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism was released today that states “the U.S. can expect a terrorist attack using nuclear or more likely biological weapons before 2013, “ according to this morning’s Metro newspaper.

Thus, the vital import of Bloomberg’s actions. Because, as I’ve said many times before—global change begins at home. And if we can do something to stop the violence here, perhaps we just might have a fighting chance to influence the malicious intentions of others elsewhere.

Yay! Mike!

Yay! Mayor Bloomberg!

I applaud your strong stance on gun control, especially since I believe that it takes far more courage to broker and maintain peace, than to start a war.

So, once again, Happiness is the belief in and practice of nonviolence.

Make Love—Not War.

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