I am a gun owner and was a hunter, but 2 knee replacements ended that activity. My point is I respect the right of Americans to own guns.
But, with that said and the brutal massacre in Orlando last week my thinking is it is time we do something about these weapons that have no purpose what so ever other than to kill.
Guns like the AR 15 reportedly used in the Orlando slaughter have little redeeming value. I actually fired a machine gun as part of the Emporia Police Department’s Citizen’s Academy years ago. Thirty rounds fired in just a few second did give me a rush and the target was obliterated, but I can achieve that same feeling by lighting a pack of 500 firecrackers at one time!
Guns don’t kill – people do, but guns like the AR 15 should be harder to get than is currently the case. This is the part of the Orlando event that gets to me. This guy bought his weapon of mass destruction with few questions just a few weeks prior to the shootings.
I’m not prepared to say no one should own an AR 15, but to buy one it ought to be more difficult and the authorities ought to learn who you are, why you want such a gun and what your intensions are.
Is that Big Brother stuff? Probably, but what else can we do? The status quo won’t do!
You need a license to be a plumber, a barber or even to sell real estate so why shouldn’t gun ownership be qualified?
Here’s a fact I heard. President Obama in his seven years in office has hosted 12 State Dinners. During the same time frame he has given 16 speeches in response to mass shootings!
A friend Tweeted “When there wasn’t compromise on gun laws after Sandy Hook I was amazed and concluded it must be okay to shoot children.”
Both candidates for President seem confused on this issue. This is not an immigration issue and all out gun control will never pass, so someone who understands compromise needs to step up.
Ronald Reagan had it right in 1989 when he said “I do not believe in taking away the right of citizens for sporting, for hunting and so forth, or for home defense. But, I do believe than an AK 47, a machine gun, is not a sporting weapon or needed for defense of a home.”
The time has arrived to adopt rules that restrict the ownership of these guns that are capable of mass shootings.
It shouldn’t be easier to purchase an AK 15 than it is to get permission to cut the curb in front of your home for a new drive way!
