As a Law Abiding Gun Owner, one of the things that usually makes my skin crawl is the way that politicians and the media target 'Gun Violence'...the idea that someone who robs a store or injures someone with a gun deserves a harsher sentence than someone who commits that same crime with a knife, or a baseball bat, or a vehicle.
The one that really chaps my hide is how nonchallantly we handle DUI' and DUI related injuries and deaths(Hell, let's call them Murders, since that's what they are). Seeing stories of people getting popped for their 6th, 7th or 10th DUI spins me right up...you have to look at hopping into a car drunk as the equivilant of standing in a public place, closing your eyes, and firing a gun in a random direction.
You wouldn't get away with doing that 6 or 7 times.
Yesterday, in Kitsap County, a lady who was driving at twice the legal limit back in December, and killed 1 person and severly injure a 2nd, was sentenced to a 4 year prison term.
It's not nearly enough...not compared to what would happen to a gun owner, or someone caught growing some marijuana in their basement.
We can't expect to seriously effect the amount of drunk driving in this country until we make it REALLY painful.
I see your four years and raise you probation: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Probation-granted-in-motorcycle-death-3671871.php
ReplyDeleteSigh. And we wonder why we have such a problem with drunk driving! The thing is, it's something that's all-too-easy for people to imagine themselves doing, AND there's a contingent of folks out there who argue that DUI shouldn't even be a charge unless a wreck happens.
Yeah...that's really kind of my point. When I was a young sailor, there was a time or two when I don't remember driving home...knowing what I COULD have done cured me of that.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm more upset by the folks on DUI 5 or 6, driving with a suspended license that get a slap on the wrist than I am the person who has a bad accident their 'first time'.