by Steven Kent
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| Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico on Friday scaled back a temporary public health order restricting the carrying of firearms in the Albuquerque metro area, limiting a ban to only parks and playgrounds. The initial ban, which was issued Sept. 8 and was to have covered 30 days, had prohibited the carrying of open and concealed firearms in public areas or on state property. Several individuals and groups had sued to block Ms. Lujan Grisham’s original order, and a federal judge on Wednesday sided with the plaintiffs, who argued that the suspension of gun rights violated the Constitution. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge David Urias granted a temporary restraining order blocking the governor’s suspension. The governor’s most recent executive order essentially replaces the blocked one. —The New York Times, September 17, 2023 |
The solution is always more guns,
Angry voices in unison chime
When a shooting's occurred.
Our predictable word
While the blood of each victim still runs:
The solution is always more guns.
The solution is always more guns.
Though we mourn those cut down in their prime,
They're the price that we pay
To have freedom today
(Thoughts and prayers for the innocent ones).
The solution is always more guns.
The solution is always more guns,
One deterrent for all kinds of crime:
In the classroom, the bleachers,
Arm staff and arm teachers;
In church, arm the priest and the nuns.
The solution is always more guns.
The solution is always more guns--
Every one, every place, every time.
And we tell these cold lies
As we look in the eyes
Of our very own daughters and sons:
The solution is always more guns.
Steven Kent is the poetic alter ego of writer, musician, and Oxford comma enthusiast Kent Burnside. His work appears in Light, Lighten Up Online, Snakeskin, and OEDILF, among others.