I keep hearing a four-letter word in the gun control debate: NEED – aAs in Piers Morgan’s question to Ted Nugent: “Why do Americans ‘need’ an AR15?” etc.
Look, I’m no gun nut or whatever, but I have to tell you, the use of that little word is clouding the issue. Try this one on for size: “Do you NEED that spare bedroom?” Or “Do you NEED a 32-ounce diet cola with your 3-pound burrito?” Or “Do you NEED a second car?” How about, “Do you NEED that giant flat-screen TV?” “Do you NEED a 6-CD changer in your car?” “Do you NEED the latest, grooviest iPhone?” ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

For better or for worse, this is still America. We have the right to a whole lot of things that we really don’t NEED. It’s the wrong question.
Dave Coleman
