I can’t own a nuclear weapon. I can’t own a rocket propelled grenade. I can’t own a machine gun.*
So when you tell me that prohibiting the sale or ownership of another classification of firearm is severely restricting your rights to bear arms under the second amendment…well…I say baloney! Banning semi-automatic weapons or assault rifles is simply moving the line in the sand from over there to over here.
But you are right. Some malfeasant will find a way to harm others even if we prevent him from acquiring an AR-15 and a thirty round clip. But if passing a few common sense laws on gun ownership can reduce gun deaths by 5% or maybe 10% or even 20%…what’s the problem with that? Yes, someone intent on mayhem could attack the public with a steak knife, a baseball bat, or a sling shot…but the resulting injury would be significantly less severe with far fewer fatalities. How many children would have died in Connecticut if the killer only had access to a revolver and a single shot bolt action rifle?
Gun deaths already outpace traffic deaths in 10 states as of 2009. And the same will be true nationally by 2015 when it is predicted that 33,000 Americans will die of gun shots.
*yes I know there are some exceptions
I find myself simply having to address this issue… YOU ARE RIGHT! There is no escaping the fact that something is wrong.. there is no escaping the fact that any and all limitations are bound to have some positive, even if residual, effects on what I consider to be a national calamity of the first order… I, myself, am an avid hunter, trapper and fisherman. I love being able to exercise these rights… buy, by Christ I gotta\’ say that if you need more than a couple of rounds to do your \”job\”… then you need to practice at the range some more…I\’m in the \”sniper\” range of talent and I can tell ya\’ for true, the ol\’ \”spray and pray\” crap just doesn\’t work any more… not for anything… why do you think that the most valued \”Spec Ops\” people are those who are exceptional at sniping? So yeah, I agree with the \”options\” being paraded about now… However, one also has to realize that no matter how small the clips are, any dumbbell is gonna\’ be able to buy a sack full of magazines which hold fewer rounds… anyone who has been around weapons knows that if you\’re proficient at it, you can \”switch out\” a mag faster than you can say \”Jack Rabbit\”… so that in and of itself is meaningless… Also, the ides of limiting \”sporting\” rifles is bologna as well… Personally, I\’ll take an idiot trying to shoot me with a \”sporting rifle\” any day as compared with someone with a .44 magnum handgun or worse, a .500 Winchester… again, depending on the range and the \”targets\”… damn near every shotgun in America is capable of firing between 3 to six rounds within seconds.. and, as any fool knows… the most deadly weapon in the world is a shotgun if it\’s within 60 yards of its\’ target… and shotguns have been around since Jesus was makin\’ furniture… So once again the American public is being led down the primrose path… erroneously believing that because of the recent… or should I say \”latest\”… disaster, all of our political representatives are now on the \”beat the drum\” bandwagon for weapon control, assault weapons ban, large magazine bans… etc., etc… And, \’fore you lose your incensed minds, know that, again, I am totally in agreement with all of the \”bans\” aforementioned… but, it\’s just not gonna\’ stop the damn problems altogether… Yes, YES YES YES especially, don\’t let any more people even think of purchasing a weapon without a complete, thorough back ground check… I, personally, think that might be one of the best solutions to all of this… but, again, it\’s not the \”whole\” answer we all would like to think it might be… Always remember, when guns are banned, no matter what kind of \”gun\” it is… the kooky, creepy, \”bad guys\” are still gonna\’ find a way to obtain \’em. Still. IPSO FACTO … so stragegy and common sensibility would demand that ALL of the \’fore mentioned remedies be applied…. Yes, ALL OF \’EM. Let\’s for once try to do everything in our power to assert our \”civility\” in this world. In this issue. Now. But, let\’s not forget to continue working on our laws and making our laws \”stick\” and enforceable. Let\’s try to do what we can to help guide those with mental illness issues to the right and available venues where they can find the help so many of them desperately need. That\’s the true meaning of the word \”civilization\”, isn\’t it? I hope so. Lastly, probably because of my \”extensive\” background in Security work, I gotta\’ say… What is more important to a society, a family, another human being, than protecting our children? . . . LOCX DOWN THE DAMN SCHOOLS!!! How much does a couple of security cameras cost? How much to keep a security person posted near the ONLY DOOR… (Steel Entry Door) which is accessible to the \”general public\” during operating hours at a school?… Practically nothing… Want schools to be safe? Unbreechable? One doesn\’t neet to be a \”security specialist\” to see the idiocy and sheer foolishness of allowing these types of atrocities to keep occuring when simple panaceas already exist to stop the problems!!! Thanks for listening… thanks even more if you forward this to your congressmen and legislators and anyone else who feeds at the public troughs…. Patrick McLafferty, Security Specialist,retired, NSA, Security analyst, U.S. Govt.
Mr. McLafferty\’s observations are correct.
If someone would have suggested removing your shoes to board a plane on September 10, 2001 people would say your are nuts. As we know, that has all changed. Agreed, lock down schools!
\”Agreed, lock down schools!\”
Yeah, the true sign of a free nation…when we lock down our public institutions!