I watched the horrible news of the Parkland, Florida shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School unfold on live TV.  I saw the children, as they fled the buildings with hands up – some of them with Valentine balloons in tow - in stunned confusion of “Another”:  Another mass school shooting… Another preventable act of gun violence… Another devastated community… Another round of meaningless prayers from legislators and deafening silence from the NRA.

I am heartsick over the death of so many children and teachers, and I am tired of hearing that word, “another”, in the same sentence as “school shooting”. I don’t understand why any civilian would need an AR-15-style gun and why they are not banned. The NRA lobbyists are not going to be honest about that, so I went to some NRA members and asked them. Their answers surprised me because I had a preconceived notion that they would be gun-clinging fanatics. The ones I spoke to were not fanatics, but sensible, responsible gun owners who support gun regulations.

When I asked an owner of an AR-15 what purpose it serves, he said, “The AR-15 is not a good personal self-defense gun. I use it to kill coyotes and in high-level competitions. It’s used to hunt and kill wild boars, some places. But they shouldn’t be so easy to buy and a ban would not be a bad thing.”

One member told me that the NRA is not in sync with its membership and has strayed from its original mission. He also sent me a link to an article on a survey of gun owners, copying this point to show me what he meant:

·  The NRA is out of touch with gun owners on gun safety issues such as background checks:  Only 29 percent of gun owners feel that the NRA represents their thinking when it comes to background checks, with 62 percent saying the NRA is out of line with them on the issue. That fits in with a broader feeling that the NRA has lost it way: 59 percent of gun owners feel that the NRA used to be an organization devoted to gun safety but that it has been overtaken by lobbyists and the interests of gun manufacturers and lost its original purpose and mission. Nearly one-third of NRA members believe the organization has lost its way.

Other NRA members I spoke with all agreed with the above statement. There was one lifetime member who summed it up by saying, “That is spot on how I feel. I'm ashamed to be part of the NRA now. My email is inundated with propaganda from them. They have lost touch with their members... they polarize the politics just as much as the media. 

“I have a C&R license. I have to meet a higher standard for gun control and securement. My guns are not a right... they are a privilege. The ATF can audit me anytime and I am ok with this. I am happy to exceed normal ownership requirements. I can honestly say most gun enthusiasts feel the same way I do. 

“We have the right to bear arms. That right doesn't mean we shouldn't be held to a higher standard. Just like a driver’s license.”

I also asked if there were other organizations that compete with the NRA, that are more in line with the NRA’s original mission. A hunter told me, “Wildlife Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, and a few others. But NRA has the lion’s share of the market.”

The NRA has the lion’s share of the market… and they have the politicians in office under their control, so that they won’t do anything about gun control. With another mass school shooting, they stick to the same talking points – “It’s too soon to talk about gun control.”, and “Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected.” etc., etc.

But with this shooting, the Parkland students are confronting the legislators and calling BS on the NRA and politicians’ pathetic responses.

This is not just any student uprising; it is a student uprising like no other. Just days after the trauma of seeing their classmates and teachers gun downed, they organized, marched on lawmakers and demanded action – not prayers, not thoughts, but action.

I am so impressed by how articulate and informed these students are, and as a baby-boomer, I think it’s time for us old folks to get behind them or get out of their way. They are taking charge and making their voices heard. They ARE the future… and they are in the fight of their life, fighting for their lives.

They are also social media savvy, with Twitter hashtags #NEVERAGAIN and #AMarchForOurLives. They have an informational website about the March 24^th march on Washington D.C.  They are awesome. 

They give me a sense of pride in America. And they give me a good “another” – another hope for our democracy.

**

** Originally published 10/29/2015 - Updated 6/14/2016 to reflect new information **

Here we go again!

This is something I've thought a lot about (again) - as I assume many of us have. It seems to me, and I'm sure I can find supporting evidence with very little effort on the Internet, that these 'rampage shooting' events are happening more and more often. When I was a kid you hardly ever heard about them. Today they happen all the time. What the hell changed?

As proof of that statement, consider this - since the attack in Orlando last Saturday, barely over 72 hours ago, there have been 196 shootings in this country resulting in 57 killed and 137 wounded.

Since Saturday!

Do we really value human life so little that we are willing to stand by and let this happen over and over again and not at least try to stop it? Is the 'right' to own a weapon more important than the 'right' for young children, college students, or people like you and me, to have safe places to go? Are both sides so deeply entrenched in their positions that we have no room for compromise?

Look, I get the fact that laws only apply to the law abiding. And a disturbed person, criminal or a possible terrorist determined to get a gun will find a way. But we have common sense regulations on all kinds of activities that have the potential to cause as much harm as firearms in this country. So why can't we put our differences aside and see what we can do about one of the major disfunction's in society today. How many people have to die before we figure this out?

Before I go on I should say that I strongly believe in the second amendment right for Americans to bear arms. In a free country, you better have a damn good reason before you restrict the rights, any rights, of the citizens of that country. Having said that, I also believe we have a real problem in America today with people committing these types of rampage shootings. One that has to be addressed. I don't pretend to have all the answers - but it has become so incredibly obvious to most of us that we have to do something. At the very least we need to discuss our options.

What makes a normal person get so frustrated that the only recourse they think they have is to get a gun (or two, or three) and head out to a public place in order to kill strangers? What type of person self-radicalizes into a terrorist on the Internet and heads out to kill as many people as he/she can? I cannot begin to understand that sort of broken thinking. (And trust me, as an ex-musician, business owner, Southern California resident and someone who was married - or even simply existing as a living breathing human being - I have experienced more than my fair share of personal frustration.)

In all fairness, I'lI even admit to having had thoughts of killing somebody before. But only in the most superficial and un-serious manner. I could never actually imagine acting on those thoughts. So what is it in our society that pushes some people over that line?

Is it all the crap in our food or medicine? Is it because of the pollution in the air and environment? Vaccines? Maybe the fluoride in our water? Chemtrails? Is it the violent video games, movies and TV shows we watch? Have we screwed up the gene pool? Is it because both parents have to work in order to make ends meet and little Bobby doesn't get enough attention? More likely it's the result of some CIA mind control experiment gone terribly wrong. Regardless, the list could go on for days.

I hear people say that these shooters suffer from some form of mental illness and that is where we should focus our efforts. Not in gun control. Yeah. I don't buy it. Sure, that kid from Newtown had a history of mental problems. But if you look at the majority of shooters, he's the exception. Not the norm.

The two from Columbine weren't mental. Weird? Sure. Outsiders? Absolutely. But most people considered them just normal high school kids. That punk who killed those people at the Charleston Church bible class doesn't seem to be mentally impaired, just a racist idiot. The freaky guy from the Aurora, CO theater shooting may look nuts but if he had not committed this crime and went on to graduate with his Ph.D, we would simply have considered him 'eccentric'. In my research, many of these shooters had minor brushes with mental health issues at an earlier period in their lives. As many people do. But most people do not grab a gun and go out and kill strangers. And the majority of these guys were not considered mentally disabled.

I hope you noticed I did not refer to any of these killers by name. I think we should make a real effort not to acknowledge these guys. We should not give the shooters the media attention I think they desire. I believe all of our energy should be given to the victims of these crimes and not to the perpetrators. Do not let them achieve any kind of notoriety or go out in 'a blaze of glory' like they want. We should not remember their names or keep track of 'body counts'. It only encourages others who may be thinking about following down this dark path.

This is only one of the things we must do to try and stop these awful events from continuing. As I said earlier, I don't pretend to have the answers to this problem. But I do have a couple of suggestions on things we might want to consider. I think it's time we put everything on the table. Let's at least try to see if we can make a difference. What do we have to lose?

Here are the ideas I have in hopes of reducing rampage shooting spree's. I encourage anyone and everyone to comment or contribute alternative ideas. That's kind of the point of this rant. So here goes:

1. Hide their names and faces.

With the possible exception of an 'at-large' shooter, I think concealing their identities will remove much of their motivation.

2. Never publish a shooter's propaganda.

This is giving the shooter's exactly what they want and is what I feel is exactly what should be denied to them.

3. Don't report on biography or speculate on motive.

Talking about motive may encourage the perception that these acts can be justified.

4. Decrease media saturation.

As insensitive at this may sound, return these events to local coverage and not turn them into national events. I understand the 24 hour news channels have a lot of airtime to fill, but, this should be about the victims. Not the ratings.

And finally,

5. Let's get serious about gun regulation options.

I know this is not going to be popular and, actually, I don't fucking care. This is not about making friends. It's about making a change. This situation is unacceptable. Unless you are cold blooded and unfeeling, this has to hurt your heart every time it happens. So let's try to do something! Anything less is chickenshit!

As a person who believes strongly in the second amendment, this is not easy to say, but here goes; We have a problem!

I'm not one of those second amendment types who think we need to keep our guns to protect us from 'the gub'ment'. I mean, c'mon! If our government ever decides to suppress the people, we're screwed. Seriously, do you really think that you and your brother, a couple of cousins and maybe a neighbor will really be able to defend your cul-de-sac from the greatest military in human history? Using a couple of dear hunting rifles, a shotgun or two and maybe a .22 pistol? Okay then. Good luck with that. Even if you had a handful of semi-auto (or even full auto) assault weapons available - your dead once you go up against a tank battalion or Seal Team Six. Admit it. You know it's true.

I believe we have the right to bear arms because we live in a free and open society. But that right exists only if we act responsibly - which we are not.

So, I think we need to look at TEMPORARILY (notice the CAPS) restricting access to guns. As an experiment. I don't advocate forcing anyone to turn in the guns they already own. We can't ask honest law abiding citizens to turn in their guns and we can't turn honest citizens into criminals overnight by out-lawing property they bought legally and have committed no crime with. So let's not go there. Although, we should ask gun owners to secure the weapons they do own so they cannot be used in rampage shootings by a member of their household. That's reasonable.

Then we should look around at other countries and see what is working, and what is not, and pass some TEMPORARY (CAPS again) laws, with EXPIRATION (ditto) dates, and see what the results are. If they work? Then we need to have public forums to debate and discuss what our next move should be. If they don't? We let them expire. No harm. No foul.

Regulation is a question of degree. I don't believe anybody is trying to out-law law guns or take them away from law-abiding citizens. But in a political environment in which every issue is reduced to a "pro" and a "con" position, proponents of gun rights often see no distinction between regulation and prohibition – they imagine that any restrictions on gun ownership are some how tantamount to banning them altogether, which is not what I'm suggesting. This is not a zero sum issue.

My personal hope is that we can find a point in time that we can remove any restrictions we put in place and regain our rights. But ONLY once we have matured enough as a society that we are not killing each other in rampages. But hey, like John Lennon, you might say I'm a dreamer.

My parents gave me three things for Christmas when I was just ten years old. That year I got my first Smith and Wesson .22 caliber 6 shot revolver, then they enrolled me in a weapon responsibility and hunters safety course, and finally, they taught me to respect guns and human life. I guess that's why I have a hard time understanding these killers. Because I know that just because you have a weapon... doesn't mean you have to use it.

It's the twenty first century folks, and, in case you forgot, this is America. We have a track record of doing some pretty incredible things over the years. It's well past time we quit talking around this problem and do something about it. We owe it to each other to get this done.

What do you think?

~ EJK

www.ejkiser.com

Sacramento, Women's March January 21, 2017

You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one.

It seems John was telling us the truth, that we aren’t alone, that we may indeed; have many, many others who are dreaming right along with us. I, like millions of other women, attended a march this past weekend. I went with my daughters and my grandson. I knew that there may be hundreds, maybe even a few thousand, but when I showed up to the park in Sacramento I was overwhelmed. The crowd was estimated to be 20,000. Twenty thousand women and their partners, brothers, sons, fathers all showing up to make a statement. What was the statement? “We are not going back.”

•  not going back to low paying jobs.
•  not going back to no health care
•  not going back to inequality for LGBT rights
•  not going back to enduring being groped and molested and having our “pussy’ grabbed
•  not going back to racism
•  not going back to hate
•  not going back to be told to stay home
•  not going back to being need an education

While we may not achieved all of the dreams and goals above we have come a long way, here are just a few milestones.

• women’s right to vote, August 18, 1920
• marriage rights for ALL Obergefell v. Hodges, June 26, 2015
• civil rights, July 2, 1964
• end of slavery, January 1, 1863

It can be easy to become jaded and discouraged and disgusted. We have a sexual predator in the White House, how much lower can we go, right? The only way to go now is up. “When they go low, we go high.”

None of the advances we have made as citizens have ever been easily accomplished, not one. Every step of the way there has been resistance by the comfortable, privileged few. Yet, we are still moving forward. A serf in 12th century Europe would never have dreamed that a document that would reshape power in England and influence a new country across the ocean, the Magna Carta, was about to written and signed and revered. There are times when it seems we take two steps back but still we are better off today than our sisters were just 200 years ago when they could not vote or own property. As I walked among kindred spirits I was encouraged and hopeful that we are not going to go willingly backward in time. When I came home and saw the news reports of the sister marches not just in our country but in many other countries around the world I felt empowered. Little, old me combining my voice with millions of other we over shadowed the inauguration of a minority elected president who did what he does best- cheated his way into an office. He and his minions have tried to put their own distorted spin on ‘alternative facts’ but we showed him that we are going to be quiet.

Of course, there are the insecure who know they are backing the wrong horse in the race. 

When they make their ridiculous comments, “My shirts aren’t going to iron themselves.”, the simple answer is- that comment is why we are marching. I am not going to dignify the author of that tweet with attention by providing a link.

As I have read and watched and heard of all the marches around the world I was so pleased that there was no violence and destruction. People can protest peacefully, we can come together for common cause. It was easy, it was joyful and I met so many wonderful people. Each time I step out of my bubble I am surprised by how emboldened I am. Try it- you may like it. The first phone call, the first town hall, the first city council meeting may seem intimidating to you but I think you may be surprised by how positive you feel when you start engaging in your community. Did we have an impact? I like to think we did. We learned that we aren’t a minority, but a majority. I have written this before and I share it again, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

J’ai vu la France la
premiere fois.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

The first time I saw
Paris.

Nice had not yet
known the “New Terror.”

It was 1993, the year
of “Europa.”

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

The signs said, “Maastricht,
Oui” or “Maastricht, Non”.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

It was “Catorze
Juillet,” Bastille Day –

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Went to the Eiffel
Tower for the fireworks,

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

The crowds were
overwhelming.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Left on a packed
Metro train.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Hearing Spanish, I
interrupted.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

The beautiful girls
were Dominican.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

They were the rich,
privileged;

Protectively ignorant
of the, “Haitian Question.”

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Had entered Europe
through Spain.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

After days in Madrid,
took the train.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

In the middle of the night, there was a terrific racket.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Spain and France had
not yet agreed on a track gauge.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Arrived Station
North.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Paris was magic.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

The Louvre had not
yet changed its entrance.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

The Mona Lisa was
still at eye-level, sans protection.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Took the “Train de
Gran Vitesse” to Dijon.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Was put in charge of
Japanese tourists.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Long before the,
“Selfie,” could not escape the camera.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

The Burgundy tour was long, wine-filled and quite cheesy.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Back in Paris,
inspected the Arc de Triomphe to distraction.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Had a nice hotel at
the end of the Metro line.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Sharing a street
bench with an old gentleman, used fresh French to ply him with questions about
the war.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Barely understood
what all the, “Maastricht” signs were about.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

The treaty signing
was not until the fall.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

England had not even
begun its snobbish slink toward “Brexit.”

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

Many of those
slaughtered at Nice were not yet born.

Paris was in a
peaceful lull.

But, Nice had not yet
terror known.

J’ai vu la France la
premiere fois –

But, Nice had not yet
terror known!!!