Present Imperfect

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The Temple and The Lodge and The Gun

March 10, 2004

I'm feeling a bit conflicted about this NYT article about a shooting in a Masonic Lodge.

At first I was seduced by the teaser line: "Ritual Gone Fatally Wrong Puts Light on Masonic Secrecy." I mean, everyone loves to hear creepy stories about the Masons, right?

Then I saw the photograph of the 76-year-old man who pulled the wrong pistol (the one with live rounds, not the one with blanks) out of his pocket and fatally shot a fellow Mason in the face during some weird prank/ritual.

Then I thought about the fact that this man was licensed to carry a handgun, and how the NRA will probably be making an appearance in Patchogue next week or so, just to make sure that everyone knows how very important it is to protect our second-amendment rights.

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