Are guns the problem? No, they are not. I love guns. The thought of an armed police officer coming to my door to collect my guns does not sit well with me. Last night, my wife and I watched an old 1950s movie classic with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr called "An Affair to Remember." It was almost as refreshing and soul cleansing as going to Church. No vulgarity, nudity, or violence. When they finally kissed, they walked up the steps on the Cruise Ship where you could only see their legs, but not them kissing. Those were the Golden Days of Class, respect, and strict morals.

After the movie was over, it was early enough to squeeze in another movie. We picked a Netflix movie called "Four Brothers" starring Marc Wahlberg. It was based in Detroit, Mich., where I was born, so it caught my attention. Normally, I would have loved this action packed movie that in my opinion was Wahlberg's best yet. However, after watching an old classic, we almost got whiplash from the time-warp reaction of following it up with a modern movie with intense violence and profanity. Of course, Wahlberg's movie also included the Hollywood requirement of a bathroom type seen where we must watch the star urinate, defecate, or perform some other explicit bathroom function. In this instance, it was Wahlberg sitting on the toilet while his brother emerged from the bathtub. Yes, things have sure changed, and not for the better. Strict moral upbringings have been replaced with day care, entertainment like "Leave it to Beaver" have been replaced with "Grand Theft Auto," and The Beach Boys have been replaced with "Godsmack." So, how's this working out for us?

Now, with one massacre after another, our leaders are scrambling to figure out how to solve the problem. Their shortcut solution is to place the blame and burden on law abiding gun owners. Now, before my fellow Democrats get all excited and accuse me of treason, realize that the Second Amendment would not even be in peril if it were not for the GOP starting all these fights. Each political party has lines that you do not cross without consequences. With Democrats, you don't attack our vital Social Security Programs that we have paid into our entire lives, and then have the nerve to call it an "entitlement handout." You do not mess with our Labor Unions that exist to protect us from selfish parasites that can never have enough.

However, Republicans did it anyway, and boldly branded it with a no compromise bully attitude. And guess what? Democrats have finally had enough, and are now giving the GOP a much deserved dose of their own medicine. They went for our jugular and attacked our Social Safety Nets, and now the Dems are attacking the GOP's Gun Rights. Their Corporate "job creators" attacked our Labor Unions, so we voted in a President that ended their tax cuts. As a bonus, their loopholes, royalties, and overseas tax havens are next. The Republicans attacked women's rights and passed intrusive Vaginal Ultrasound laws, and then advised women to "just close their eyes" if they don't like it. As for contraception, the GOP's sugar daddy Foster Freise advised women to put "an aspirin between their knees". Now, with more women in Congress, I can see the poetic justice of an all-women panel of Senators deciding the fate of Gun Control, and then appropriately offering that aspirin to the NRA to soothe their headaches for what's to come. The GOP also decided to redefine rape, and then decide which ones were "legitimate." Thanks to these troublemakers, Democrats are now reciprocating by redefining the 2nd amendment, and deciding if the ownership of a 100 round assault rifle is legitimate. Way to go GOP!

Now, the GOP wants to raise the age of retirement to 70. Keep it up, and the Dems might repay the favor by raising the age of gun ownership to 35. Since almost all these mass shootings and gun related crimes are committed by men under 35 years old, it would make perfect sense to keep guns out of their possession. Yes, turnabout is fair play. Did Republicans actually think that President Obama was going to just sit and politely listen to the NRA, the GOP, and their Stooges on Fox News relentlessly insult him and his family with every dirty rotten name known to man? This is one reason why the GOP's own poster boy Bobby Jindall called his own party "the stupid party." When you add the Tea Party to the Stupid Party, you create the blueprint on how to lose two presidential elections in a row, and then put the 2nd amendment on the chopping block.

During President Obama's first term, many massacres occurred, but there was no serious talk of Gun Reform. If the President tried it during his first term, he knew he might lose his re-election with such a controversial topic. He also knew, as he does now, that the GOP has been baiting him with their relentless obstruction. Barack Obama was a Constitutional Law Professor, and did not take the bait. If the President did take some form of drastic Executive Action to stop this reckless GOP obstruction as many Democrats have urged him to do, the GOP would have then launched the biggest impeachment attack in the history of our Nation. The President was way too smart to allow his presidency to be defined, endangered, and encumbered with this deliberate trap. Instead, he wisely chose to fight another day, and on his terms.

Now, it's payback time. The President is overwhelming the GOP with devastating and relentless counter-attacks which include Gun Control, the Violence Against Women Act, Increasing Minimum Wage, Immigration Reform, regulating Wall Street, and closing offshore tax havens and loopholes for the rich. Incapable of governing, the GOP has resigned themselves to the political suicide of obstructing these issues, of which the President has the overwhelming support of the Nation. The GOP lost two Presidential elections with this sabotage strategy, and is now fated to continue losing each and every battle, while the media superbly showcases their tiring and worn-out obstruction to the Nation. The GOP is now a desperate party in a civil war with itself, trapped in their own snares, and dissolving in their own hate. Hey Republicans, please continue listening to the Tea Party and start some more fights. Hillary Clinton with her 70 percent approval rating is counting on it!

Jimmy Pappas is a Coeur d'Alene resident.