Bear with me. I'm not just feeding you headlines. I have do have a connection here with my Obama canvassing:
This was one of the headlines this afternoon on ABC.
Boy Accidentally Killed by Submachine Gun at Firearms Expo
Father, Instructor Nearby When the 8-Year-Old Fired Micro Uzi
By SARAH NETTER
Oct. 27, 2008—
With his father and a firearms instructor standing nearby, an 8-year-old Connecticut boy shot himself in the head with a submachine gun yesterday, killing himself in an accident some say should never have happened.
Christopher Bizilj was testing a 9 mm Micro Uzi at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in Westfield, Mass., as part of the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo, when he shot himself Sunday.
"The firearm instructor prepped the weapon for him, and once it was ready he handed it to the child," Westfield Police Lt. Hipolito Nunez told ABCNews.com today. Christopher then pulled the trigger, and the gun's recoil pulled the barrel upward, causing a round to hit him on the right side of his head, according Nunez. He was pronounced dead a short time later at Baystate Medical Center in nearby Springfield.
Here's how this ties in with my work for Obama.
I've been canvassing here in Colorado for Obama. Wonderful people here in Pueblo... and we're going blue. I found that many of the folks I visited last Saturday were interested in talking...about the election, about Obama, about their confusion over some of the issues. One of the gentlemen I spoke with was a retired hunter. Nice guy; answered the door with his young grandson. He said he was leaning Obama. He had his mail in ballot but he had one question. He was getting an avalanche of mailings from the NRA...you know this routine. It's repeated every election cycle. I assured him that Barack Obama would not be overturning the 2nd ammendment. (Has this even been attempted in our history? I'll have to look that up). I did tell him that Senator Obama has come out in support of local gun control to help with violence in cities and that he might want to do some research on www.ontheissues.com and see how this compared with the mailings he has received. I also recommended that he look up www.huntersandshooters.org. He was happy with that and said he would be voting for Obama.
My husband is a hunter. He has a concealed weapon permit. He took all of the necessary training and has the certificates etc. He tried to join a shooting club here in Colorado. They said he would have to join as a lifetime member of the NRA. So here's my question: Why doesn't the NRA clean up their act and be the voice of reason regarding the proliferation of guns, gun shows, desparate attempts by city mayors to keep guns off the street, etc...you know the drill. Instead of being an organization for responsible hunters they end up with a despicable reputation for the "take my guns over my dead body" crowd. Every election year they flood peoples homes with flyers and ads crying the battle hymn! No restrictions, no way, no how. Please someone, take the helm at the NRA and make it into what it could be. The center for responsible gun ownership and help prevent tragedies such as this one. My heart goes out to the family, but why in good God would they give this boy this gun - legal or not.