26 October 2006

Thinkin' 'bout Gunfights

Scrolling through the morning news I came across this opinion in the New York Times regarding the "Gunfight at the OK Corral which took place 125 years ago today.

If the link doesn't work for you, consider this one paragraph. "Then there’s gun control. The Earps didn’t debate gun control; they enforced it, alienating those who considered it their God-given right to carry guns. A decade ago, Pat Buchanan, with gun belt, made a campaign stop in front of the O.K. Corral." If he had done that 125 years ago, he might have met the same fate as the cow-boys, at least two of whom were carrying guns in blatant defiance of town ordinance."

Even though I'm a history buff, I never knew that Tombstone (along with many other Western towns) had a gun control law. I always bought into the mythology that the wild west was just that - wild, and that laws of this type didn't come around until a lot more recently.

The opinion, by the way, isn't about gun control - it simply shows that issues of today were issues even then. It also mentions federal versus local law jurisdiction and illegal immigration. Something to think about going into a frosty Thursday.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well, first I said the dog/cat thing was a conservative/liberal deal.

Then I said all the cat people will be voting for Karl Dye.

Then you said, nope, the dog/cat thing is not conservative/liberal.

But then you said it's safe to assume liberals will be voting for Dye.

Ha ha. Thank you for conceding my dog/cat point.

Though i guess you get a point or two for at least wanting to have a dog.

As for Dye, I guess I am going to hold my nose and vote for him. Thanks to the alternative. Or heres and idea, maybe you could just tell us the legal spelling for your name so we can get it down write.