

Gun Control Debate Follows Colorado Massacre, But Few Follow The Money

A four-year-old boy shot and killed in the Bronx, a massacre in Colorado. High profile debacles re-ignited a debate over gun control both locally and federally. After countless decades of debate, lawmakers have yet to design a gun policy that doesn't punish law abiding citizens, while making it harder for the deranged to carry out massacres.

For Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of Long Island, the matter is as personal as can be. Her husband, Dennis, was killed on the LIRR massacre in 1993. A staunch advocate of gun control, her proposal for President Barack Obama to use executive authority for the reformation of gun control was met with 'silence.'

The outrage takes the headlines, becomes the twitter trend, and is subject of discussion for media coverage. Few discuss the math underneath - pro gun lobby groups far outspend those in favor of gun control, by some estimates at a 17 to 1 margin. And in government, whichever lobby has the cash tends to get the votes they want. Yet the post-Aurora shooting debate centers on common sense and not how politics operate.

In Colorado, twelve crosses now line a patch in memory of those killed. Mourners come by thoughtfully writing down words of love and of respect.

Meanwhile the world struggles to understand the mind of 24-year-old James Holmes. Once so much of a prospect that the federal government banked on the neuroscience student, giving the San Diego native a 26-thousand dollar grant. Holmes' mental state has been heavily debated since his first court appearance Monday when he appeared out of sorts. Aside from referring to himself as 'the joker" when questioned by police he reportedly used latex gloves placed on his hands as puppets. The gloves were used to keep his hands untainted so that a gunshot residue test could be performed.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for one of the theater goers, Torrence Brown, is preparing a lawsuit against the movie theater, any doctors who prescribed Holmes medications, and Warner Brothers as the studio that produced the Batman movie. Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures have both contributed to a fund for the Colorado victims, which has surpassed $2 million as of this writing. Strangely, if every penny of it went to anti-gun groups, it would still be heavily outspent by the pro-gun lobbies including the NRA.

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