Posted by Beau L'Amour on May 24, 2000 at 15:50:07:

In Reply to: Re: New Sackett Covers posted by Mike Shaffer on May 21, 2000 at 20:41:47:

One of my big goals is to get most of the guns off of our covers. Many of the old covers have a guy who seems to be posing for the sole purpose of showing you his gun. This symbol has been so over-used that it has little power anymore and I feel that it is VERY unhealthy for people like myself who believe strongly in the 2nd and 18th amendments to throw MORE images of firearms at the public. Images of guns swamp our society and make people worried and fearful. These images lead irresponcible people to equate guns and gun use with some kind of power or control that they do not have in their lives or to be part of some kind of "image" that they wish to posses. I'm trying in my small way to put guns back into holsters and closets (where they spent most of their time anyway) and let them become just another dangerous tool like they were back before the movies and TV started glorifying their use in the 1960s. -- a side note: just check out the use of guns in movies before '60 and after . . . there's plenty of guns used in those old movies but they are just like any other prop . . . now they are some kind of special icon. Their continued over use and over value as symbols of violence and fear in our culture will lead to bans if we are not careful. The media (that's me in part but I'm trying to be responcible) will create a critical mass of gun/fear imagery, movie violence, and those sickening point-and-shoot games (this is why there has never been an LL computer game) and then turn and say there is too much violence in our society for people to be allowed to protect themselves.

Most people want the same thing, security. There are disagreements about how to achieve it but both the pro and anti gun arguements are about security. I just wish that the two sides would stop hating each other (that kind of hatred in our society is the REAL problem). Lobbying organizations feed on that hatred (gun waving loonies on one side angery mothers on the other -- at least this month), the media feeds on hatred (relishing the chanting, tears, and rage), and people get all wound up over issues that need to be discussed calmly and in detail. To the end of not inflating the debate to the point where only stupidly emotional decisions can be made, to the end of creating rational discussions of the specific problem areas in this issue; I am cutting back on gun imagery (where appropriate there will still be some) on our covers and I would suggest that other publishers, magazine owners, film makers, and game designers do the same. We have used this icon to death. Let's give it a rest for awhile.

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