On Ted Kennedy's Passing

Ted Kennedy - The End of Camelot

First, let me extend my sympathies to the Kennedy family, his personal and political staff and those who were close to him. I know many people liked him and thought of him as a champion for certain causes. If it is any consolation, he is no longer in any discomfort and he may know peace at last.

However, as someone who grew up in a home with parents who were independent voters and a father who was born about the same time as Joseph Kennedy Jr., I cannot say that I'm terribly saddened by Mr. Kennedy's passing. My father had some contact with the Kennedy family before the Second World War and those experiences shaped his opinion of them. And, he didn't have many kind words for them. In fact, he voted for Richard Nixon over JFK, if that'll give you an idea of how he felt.

The Brothers
Almost unknown today, Joseph Jr. was a Navy Lieutenant during WW-II. He was killed on August 12, 1944, at age 29 when the PB4Y (B-24 Liberator) he was piloting as part of Operation Aphrodite exploded near the English Channel. He was the first of the four brothers to die in service to his country.

The loss of Teddy's brother, John F. "Jack" Kennedy in 1963 shocked the nation. We'd had presidents assassinated before (four of them), but never had it been caught on film. Worse was that Jack's charisma was very strong and many that initially resisted him came to like him personally. People mourned for their "Camelot" president.

Five years later, with America embroiled in the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War under President Lyndon Johnson, Robert F. "Bobby" Kennedy ran for president. Both he and Johnson were Democrats but Bobby ran on a popular platform appealing to the younger crowd. Then, on June 6, 1968, just after winning the California Primary, a young Palestinian man wielding a .22 caliber revolver assassinated him in the kitchen of the Los Angeles Ambassador hotel.

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was the last of four brothers. That he might also one day run for president was obvious. But first, he joined with others in Congress to support the 1968 Gun Control Act (or GCA-'68). This act forced gun sellers to be licensed by the government, prohibited felons, drug users and non-citizens from buying guns and required the registration of ammo sold. With two brothers assassinated, I think we could easily understand his desire to tighten up on firearms.

Teddy - Mr. Anti-gunAny aspirations Teddy had for the White House were dashed in the infamous 1969 Chappaquiddick incident in which Mary Jo Kopechne died in Teddy's car. As a result of this incident, he never ran for President. Instead, he supported every anti-gun measure to come before the Senate.

Kennedy supported many various causes over the years, from civil rights, immigration reform, health-care bills, anti-war legislation, campaign finance reform and many others. The problem many people had with his politics was that Kennedy pushed social program over many primary needs of the nation.

Rather than address crime, it was always guns. Rather than address illegal immigration, it was always immigration reform. Rather than create jobs for the poor, he wanted to build them housing. He would often publicly excoriate those who opposed him with an acerbic tongue.

I'm told that Kennedy was the backroom force that required a no gun ownership clause inserted in Federal Housing laws to prevent the poor from owning firearms for self-defense. He supported Diane Feinstein when she made her infamous statement about banning every gun in the country ("Mr. & Mrs. American, turn 'em all in").

A man who wanted to ban every firearm in the country, yet his personal bodyguards were well armed, sometimes carrying weapons which would be illegal in many states were it not for his political clout. It rarely occurred to him that most of his constituents could not afford to hire personal bodyguards for a trip to the airport or another country. Nor that few of them lived in gated "compounds" with armed security guarding the gates. Not that he really gave a damn about it either.

In 1993, when Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan wanted a 10,000 percent tax on 9mm JHP ammo, Kennedy reportedly supported it quietly and tried to convince others to support some sort of massive tax increase on ammunition. Moynihan's absurd tax proposal would boost the cost of 9mm Black Talon (now Ranger) ammo to $1,500 per box (except for police & military uses of course).

No, I will not mourn the passing of Senator Kennedy. Neither will I celebrate his death nor his life. Once the media has had enough of the tearful farewells and the citizens rightfully stop Congress from pushing "KennedyCare", I'll forget all about Teddy Kennedy.

Lastly, I'll sleep better knowing he's not planning more anti-gun stupidity.

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