Willy Got His Gun

Back in 1971 Dalton Trumbo wrote and directed one of the most powerful cinematic journeys anyone has ever perpetrated on the American public. Based on his 1938 novel, Johnny Got His Gun is the story of a soldier hit by a mortar shell the last day of World War I. As he lies in his hospital bed, a quadruple amputee with his bandaged face completely missing, the audience is obliged to watch this sightless, mutant body recall the events leading to his tragic existence. Only a pinko, commie lunatic like Trumbo, a notorious member of the Hollywood 10, could craft such anti-war filth (All right, so he also wrote A Guy Named Joe and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, but it was patriotic dribble meant to cover up his true subversive intent.)

Let Freedom Ring - Guns for Everyone

Rallying around the tragic loss of lives last December in suburban Connecticut, these same insidious leftist love-mongers attempted yesterday to derail the second amendment with a law to expand background checks to include purchases at gun shows and on the Internet. It seems perfectly irrational to want to stretch an overly aggressive regulation of firearms into commercial venues reserved for outstanding and honest American citizens. Only truly patriotic individuals with a love of country western music and apple pie would ever dream of attending a gun show. As for the Internet, I am sure all of you blog readers will agree with me when I say it is the kind of complex commercial outlet too difficult for any idiot or mentally ill individual to traverse. Such laws are merely socialist liberal tools to remove us from our last line of defense, our guns.

My youngest daughter preserving liberty
with her rifle in a school play.

To illustrate my point I thought I would introduce a scenario regarding my own neighborhood in Orange County, California. Willy (not his actual name) is my neighbor. His family lives a few doors away in a corner of our quiet cul de sac. They are one of only two original owners who purchased their newly constructed home in 1970; about the time Willy was born I would guess. While I’ve rarely seen Willy’s parents, he was always around 15 years ago when we moved here. He would come by and tell me about his love of airplanes, especially vintage World War II aircraft like those he saw at March Air Force Base in Riverside, and how he missed the girls who used to live across the way. Then, in his high-pitched voice he confided he didn’t want to get in trouble with the police again, so he better stop talking about girls. A rumor that accompanied this story was that he pilfered a pair of panties from a dryer in the garage where they used to live. Most of the time I saw him walking around with his baseball cap firmly in place carrying on a fairly animated conversation with nobody in particular. Although I raised two daughters in this home I never worried about Willy causing any problems, and actually considered his presence sitting on the curb a deterrent to those who might.

Someone who may or may not be
 Willy (a fictitious name).

A few years ago I saw Willy on his bicycle, and he stopped to tell me how much he enjoyed going to Hooters because the waitresses were always so nice. Being a true believer in the free market I was impressed with the way our capitalistic society can remedy social issues so effectively. That’s when it hit me how important it is to protect someone like Willy’s rights. Needless to say, someone who can ride several miles on his bicycle to eat a few Buffalo wings and enjoy the camaraderie of young ladies with specially fitted brassieres, should be able, if he wants, to go to some gun show and purchase a firearm without the hassle of filling out impertinent paperwork. Now, if there is a chance the reason I haven’t seen Willy lately is because he has taken the time to learn how to use the Internet I still stand with those who think it is a pinko plot to interfere with his right to purchase his gun online. He’d probably select a vintage World War II pistol anyway.