This Is Why We Can't Have Killing Things

Charlton Heston, Moses to many, once raised a rifle over his head and asserted,  "I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands." I have no way of knowing if Mister Heston was buried with his gun, but I would expect this was a challenge that might have appealed to some left-wing prankster like Michael Moore once upon a time. 
It does paint a pretty solid picture of our country's literal and figurative investment in guns. A few days ago, Meghan McCain made what could be an even more stark pronouncement: “I'm not living without guns," she said.  "It's just that simple!" The tragic irony that Ms. McCain brushed past was the fact that there are ninety-nine Americans daily who stop living because of guns. 
How about some of that "common-sense" gun legislation we hear so much about? Why not ban assault weapons. Surely there is no place for these guns outside of a battlefield, right? Ms. McCain's response: “The AR-15 is by far the most popular gun in America, by far. I was just in the middle of nowhere Wyoming, if you're talking about taking people’s guns from them, there’s going to be a lot of violence.”
Democratic Presidential Candidate Beto O'Rourke, who was born in El Paso, has had enough and is very clear about his agenda. He has suggested that we buy back all those assault weapons that have been held by private citizens. The same kind of gun that killed yet another eight people in Odessa, Texas last week. The same kind of weapon the killer was able to purchase even though he failed his background check. So he bought via a loophole in private gun sales. 
Ms. McCain refers to people like Beto as "gun-grabber." Which takes us back to the initial law handed down by Chuck Heston. "I dare you to take my gun away." The implicit threat being that if anyone did, there would be blood. Interestingly enough, Mr. O'Rourke and those like him who suggest buy-back plans are appealing to perhaps the one thing which might supersede our love of guns: Our love of money. How much is it worth to you to cling to your AR-15? Five percent over retail? Ten? 
Maybe if Ms. McCain sat down and read some of her daddy's wisdom on gun control: “Eighty percent of the American people want to see a better background check procedure,” Senator McCain said back in 2013. “I’m very favorably disposed” toward the Manchin-Toomey compromise. “And the American people want to do what we can to avoid these tragedies.” Meghan, you don't have to live in a world without guns. But a majority of Americans would like to find ways to be safe from "America's favorite gun."