An Opinion, by Paul Tice –
Assault rifles are going to remain legal, despite being made for one purpose – killing large numbers of people quickly, in warfare. Those who can legally fulfill this purpose should be those who should legally own them. Period. It’s called “common sense.” Congress has thrown us a bone to try and quell the outrage. The legislation was not based on what the guns were designed for, but targeted “mental health” issues instead. Sure, keeping these weapons from the craziest of people is a good start. But the purpose for the weapons gets ignored. An outrageously dumb-ass Congressman side-stepped the weapons’ purpose by claiming AR-15s are used by farmers in the Midwest to shoot prairie dogs. You can kill a prairie dog with a small bore .22. One would think these prairie dogs must be the size of trucks, invading neighborhoods and attacking our children. But it’s people with assault rifles that pose this kind of threat, not prairie dogs.
A trained philosopher will tell you that in effect, not lawfully, but in effect, our lawmakers have made it possible for people to perform mass murder with assault rifles. Because of this simple fact, they have thereby, in effect, made it permissible (since they could stop it). These weapons were made strictly for mass murder. You can get one and do just that. And the government says it’s okay. They’ll arrest you later—but by then it’s too late. A few gun enthusiasts actually lost a child in a mass shooting, and only then did they agree with this stance. There are thousands of other guns to own other than an assault rifle. Yes, it’s cool to have one, but what’s the need based on their purpose? Show the need, get the gun, that would be a pretty fair law.
Other countries around the world have stopped mass shootings in their tracks, down to almost nothing, with the proper legislation. It’s been proven it can be stopped. Our lawmakers have chosen not to stop it and more innocent loved ones have and will die gruesome deaths because of it. The Democrats have promoted the mental health legislation only because it shows that at least something was done, while Republicans, who have more control in this matter, have thrown us a small bone to insulate them from the outrage, while preserving their standing with the gun lobbies. It’s all garbage and propaganda.
The problem will not go away until these weapons are banned or strictly licensed and limited. There have been more mass shootings since these laws went through. So one can blame Congress for being complicit in these gruesome and preventable murders; blood is on their hands. Keeping these guns available is like giving a pyromaniac a flame-thrower, which is also made for one purpose. Then you tell him, “Just don’t start any fires with it, okay?” And he would likely tell you, “No, I’m going to roast prairie dogs with it. They’re a real problem in the Midwest.”
