I have always been one of those people who “wondered why.” Even at a very young age, I chose to get answers rather than swim in a pool of puzzles.
For instance, when I was 5, I was stumped when I would hear kids from other neighborhoods talk about relatives and others spending the night at their homes. At that time, no one had ever spent the night at my house.
Confounded, I asked my older, smarter neighbor, Mary Lee, “How come nobody ever spends the night at my house?” Without hesitation, she responded, “Y’all don’t have a bathroom!” She didn’t have one either, so I guessed she knew what she was talking about.
Well, since then my thoughts have been aimed toward slightly more serious topics.
For instance, just a few months ago, I read that Louisiana makes people take up to 500 hours of training toward earning a license to make money braiding hair. Wait. What? They say some of the synthetic extensions could be a source of toxins that could lead to negative health outcomes and other debatable stuff.
Ed Pratt
However, 500 hours, essentially more than 60 eight-hour days of training, seems a bit much. A friend, who is a longtime beautician, believes the 500 hours is more of a money grab than anything else. Others believe the same thing.
But this column is not so much about hair braiding as it is about how bizarre it is that Louisiana makes it more difficult to do a hairstyle than to get a weapon that kills and maims thousands of people, including little children, every year. What kind of thinking is this?
Where folks need the equivalent of hours and hours of training to braid hair, all an 18-year-old must do is march down to the local gun shop and get a deadly weapon. No training. No license. Nothing. Just have the money for the gun and let the bullets fly where they may.
Now, this is a great idea for a state like Louisiana, since a recent study showed that the Bayou State is second among states with the most gun deaths per capita, with 28.2 per 100,000 population. If we fight harder, we can soon eclipse number one Mississippi which is at 29.7 per 100,000 population.
I know, I know, some folks will say a lot of the guns used in those killings were stolen, yada, yada, yada. So, is the answer making sure folks with no training or a license can get them, too?
But wait, guess what might be coming to Louisiana? It’s vending machines that will spit out packages of bullets.
Imagine a vending machine in a major grocery store or the neighborhood convenience stop and shop where you can buy bullets. Essentially, you will be able to get your chocolate-covered almonds in one machine, then take a couple steps to the right and purchase 9mm rounds, the bullets most likely to be used in shootings in the U.S.
According to news accounts, American Rounds, which owns the machines, says it is looking to expand into Oklahoma, Texas, and you guessed it: Louisiana.
Over in Alabama, two stores recently started selling ammunition through the AI-powered Automated Ammo Retail Machine, or AARM. American Rounds proudly says it uses facial recognition to establish the customer’s ID and age (they must be 21 years old) before spitting out the boxes of bullets. So, I guess my angry 18-year-old with a gun he doesn’t know how to use will have to get his older buddy to purchase bullets for him.
Well, that’s all we need, right? But why, I ask?
I wish my late friend Mary Lee was still around to unravel this one for me.