From cartoonist Clay Jones about ‘California Shooting,’ his own history with guns, and the closest thing readers are going to get of a selfie
Practice makes perfect. Too many horrible events, too close together, keeps giving me not just the opportunities but the requirement that I draw cartoons featuring guns. I am not the most talented artist among my editorial cartooning colleagues. Far from it. But I am getting really good at drawing guns.
I’m not against the Second Amendment. But the article was written when the top of the line firearm was a musket. It also says the right to a “well regulated militia.” What the Hell is well-regulated about the proliferation of guns in this country?
I grew up with guns. I was (mostly) raised in Louisiana where you don’t drive past a pickup truck or a high school parking lot without seeing gun racks. I’m actually a pretty good shot. I strongly believe in the rights to own a gun and the culture of hunting. I believe hunting is very important to the environment in some situations. Of course, none of this requires the ownership of an Ak-47 or AR-15.
I owned guns. I tried hunting. I shot a rabbit once, and then I felt really bad. The day I sat in a deer stand and watched three deer walk past me and I didn’t take a shot was the day I realized I wasn’t a hunter. I don’t like getting up early or sitting in a tree in the woods during winter. I’m not a fisherman either.
Over time, I got rid of my guns. Not out of anything political. I was bored, and I was neglecting them. They were getting rusty. After my son was born, I was glad they were already gone. I gave them up the same way I gave up golf. I lost all interest. I would rather have a 335 than a 357. A 335 is a guitar. Do you know how many times I’ve needed a gun since 1988? None. I have needed a guitar on thousands of occasions, and if someone breaks in, I’ll wack ’em with a Telecaster (and don’t forget Killer digging the sleep hole in my bed).
The distribution of guns in the United States is getting beyond ridiculous. It’s stupid. It’s time we actually enact very strict laws on gun ownership. I believe every single gun should be registered. I’ll go farther than that. We need to register ammunition. We need further background checks. Why do we sell guns to people we won’t allow on a plane?
Yes. Bad guys will continue to find ways to get guns. People continue to drive too fast, but we don’t get rid of speed limits. Despite laws against it, people still commit murder.
I drew a cartoon on guns last week. I wasn’t that wild about it. I drew it before the shooting in Colorado Springs. After that, the cartoon was shared like crazy on social media. USA Today ran it. I tried to take a breath and not draw a cartoon on gun violence. I’m having a harder time squeezing those in because people keep shooting people. Enough!
I wanted to draw Rahm Emanuel today. America won’t let me. Stop shooting each other.
The drawing in this cartoon isn’t entirely accurate. Nobody walks in while I’m drawing. I don’t really have an editor anymore. I have the occasional editor a few times a month for commissioned projects, and I don’t even let them tell me what to do. My dog is a Beagle, and the dog in the cartoon doesn’t look very much like Chubbs. He does hang out between my feet and under my chair while I draw (or he gets back on my bed where he’s continuing his dig a sleep hole project). I don’t have a drafting table anymore, but I do draw on a board (I’ve had since I was 17) on a flat table. I have two laptops, one for coloring (and everything else) and the other for scanning because my scanner doesn’t like my good computer. There is an Epiphone 335 next to my table which I mess with while watching TV, which is on the wall across from my drawing spot. I do have a Nirvana poster of Cobain, but I don’t have one of the “Nevermind” cover. And I am wearing pants with holes in the knees.
Since I don’t post selfies, this is the most accurate you’re going to see of me until someone else takes my picture for whatever reason that may be.
http://claytoonz.com/2015/12/03/california-shooting/
