Stranded in what seemed like endless traffic during my journey back to Muncie, I became distracted by the backside d+â-¬cor of the jeep traveling in front of me. I found myself creeping closer to the car to decipher the message on the bumper sticker.
Having always been an avid reader of bumper stickers, I am often amused by the clever thoughts and witty catch phrases displayed on the rear ends of vehicles.
However, I was taken aback by the one I saw this weekend. It said, "Ted Kennedy's Car Killed More People Than My Gun."
Although this is open to interpretation, I was determined to get to the bottom of it. Since I was stuck in traffic, my cell phone became my only source of information. Calling anyone who might be able to help me understand the message, I was immediately informed about an incident in Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts.
In June 1969, Edward Kennedy was involved in a serious car accident that proved fatal for 29-year-old secretary Mary Jo Kopechne. She worked in Washington DC and was driving with Kennedy back from a party when his intoxication outweighed his ability to steer his car. Kopechne was killed when the car swerved off a bridge and into a river. Although he did not suffer any serious injuries, Kennedy claimed to be in a state of shock, as he later explained to the press as reasoning for fleeing the scene of the accident.
His wife and kids were at their Massachusetts home at the time of the accident, and it is arguable whether the incident was planned. Theories suggest he was trying to cover up his affair. It is believed that the scandal kept Kennedy from running for a higher political office because he was seen as a murderer, although no physical evidence of premeditation was found.
It was shocking to me that I had never heard anything about it, and I could not believe that such an incident could be taken so lightly as to be made into a bumper sticker.
My first thoughts were that the driver, whom I pictured to be an NRA member who owned cases full of guns, was taking one simple mistake and comparing it to something totally irrelevant. Gun control and firearm violence are serious issues. However, drunk driving and fatal car accidents are very different.
Because the sticker implies that cars are more dangerous than guns, I thought it very ironic that he would display such a bold message in the form of a bumper sticker on his vehicle. The very same vehicle, keep in mind, that he claims to be more hazardous than the gun he owns.
Regardless if he is an educated gun owner, maybe he should look less at the accidental vehicle fatalities, and consider firearm statistics.
Personally, I am in favor of more strict laws against guns, but that doesn't mean I am downplaying the seriousness of drunk driving. It's almost as if the bumper sticker makes it out to be one or the other.
The bumper sticker-bearing driver of that jeep may have been proving the point that guns shouldn't be outlawed, but what was he implying? Should we outlaw cars? Over 16,000 Americans die each year from accidental falls at their homes. Should we outlaw ladders too?
Well, if nothing else, at least he got me thinking.
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