Handgun Control, Inc.
Offset, circa 1997
Washington, D.C.
17424
CSPG’s Poster of the Week was produced
25 years ago, yet it is painfully appropriate to commemorate last week’s massacre
in Colorado and last year’s massacre in Norway.
Although the statistics are more than 20
years old and out-of-date, no poster could, unfortunately, be more relevant.
Ever since 12 people were murdered and
58 wounded in Aurora, Colorado last Friday, July 20, at the midnight showing of
the latest Batman film, the media has been filled with the astounding quantity of
weapons and ammunition the alleged shooter was able to obtain through the
internet. Yet the issue of gun
control has not been raised by either President Obama or challenger Mitt
Romney.
In an editorial published July 24,
David Horsey , Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist from
Seattle, discusses why, “Despite Colorado theater
massacre, a discussion of guns is off limits.” He concludes his column with, “Why do conservatives
not want to have that discussion now? I'll tell you why: Because they have let
the most extreme elements of the gun-rights community dictate gun policy for
the entire country and now they are afraid to cross them. For conservatives,
this is not the time for a discussion about guns because, no matter how much
blood is spilled, even in preventable circumstances, it is a discussion they
never plan to have.”
The Colorado tragedy comes almost a year
to the day of the anniversary of the Norwegian tragedy. On July 22, 2011,
a 33-year-old far-right fanatic bombed the government district in Oslo, killing
eight, followed by shooting rampage that left 69 dead at the left-wing Labor
Party's youth camp on Utoya island.
He was opposed to Norway’s inclusive multiculturalism, so attacked the
future leaders of the Norwegian left.
Two other massacres that took place in
the U.S. since this poster was produced:
April 20, 1999 -The Columbine High School massacre,
Columbine, Colorado. Two senior students, embarked on a shooting spree in
which a total of 12 students and 1 teacher were murdered and 21 students were
injured 21.
April 16, 2007 - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University massacre, Blacksburg, Virginia: A senior student shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others.
When will we ever learn.
Sources:
Newer versions of this poster seem to be going around the internet, possibly photoshopped. Do you know anything about this? They don't say 1996, but just "Last year", and the year to which they are referring is unknown.
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