Don’t interpret what I posted as blaming those things. I am a believer that a child is the product of FIRST: their parents and SECOND: their environment. When the mind has been weakened with a lack of discipline, a sense of reality, and personal responsibility all the other things (movies, games, TV, etc…) become much easier to affect someone’s thinking. First and foremost I blame the parents.
I don't think he/she is looking at you. I think AD's comments are general, and very accurate, observations of what we people do depending on where we stand on a given issue. The right thinks, in general, that the second amendment is an absolute right and no one should be harmed by it, that it has nothing to do with, say, Sandy Hook or any other improper use of a weapon while, in general, thinking gay marriage, Hollywood, books, music, movies, have profound impact on behavior.
The truth is that by the simple act of producing a gun, like producing a book, saying something, there IS an influence and then the question becomes one of how much and how proper/improper and what to do. We don't want people yelling fire in a crowded theater when there is none. The suit against Bushmaster is going to focus on their advertisements that, clearly, promote the warrior/combat/bad ass image and use of their 'modern sporting rifle'. The argument is going to be that Bushmaster knowingly, intentionally, promoted violent use of their product.
Now, in a land of free speech, you should be able to tell me to go shoot up a school all you like and, as long as you had nothing to do with it, it's just speech. But, again, both ends of the political spectrum promote the idea that speech has something to do with action. So, we're in muddle land where simple inconsistency on both ends of that political, social spectrum, open the door wide to drive through the idea that people who had nothing to do with a specific action can still be held responsible for how someone else acts.
had Bushmaster ALWAYS promoted their AR's as modern sporting rifles to be used for hunting and target shooting and personal defense, this would be a MUCH tough argument for the plaintiffs. If you've seem some Bushmaster ads, you can see how it's not hard to argue they promoted them for combat uses, too.
If it is me, I throw this suit out and try and have the lawyers disbarred for insulting the profession. But, if it is me, I throw out plaintiffs trying to ban books, send musicians to jail and use the Constitution to ban gay marriage. So, we'll see.
