God Bless Our Assault Rfiles

After the most recent horrific tragedy, I suddenly asked why does anyone need to have an assault rifle?  I understand the need for these weapons if you are a professional in the military or in law enforcement.

But the idea of Joe Sixpack going to a gun show or to a gun shop and buying an assault rifle is .... insane.

I tried to find the logic behind this.  Here is one argument I read.  This was taken from a forum on a website for Concealed and Carry Magazine.  The writer in support of allowing assault rifles wrote the following.  We will be hearing all these arguments and more in the weeks and months ahead as the NRA fights any efforts to ban the sale of assault rifles.


 ".... there are many points that I personally feel are valid enough to keep these and all weapons free to citizens starting with:

the idea of a citizen/soldier, to get quick extra shots while harvesting game, to have more fun while plinking targets, to defend yourself against street gangs or mob violence,

protect your family, protect your home, protect your property, psychological effect against intruders (the visual of an AR is much scarier than a golf club in hand),

to help the firearms industry help keep the economy strong, to pay firearms taxes to help with the management of all wildlife, to challenge "Big Brotherism",

to defend yourself against a St. Croix-type hurricane where officers and prisoners run amok, because 100 million other Americans have a firearm of some type so in defense against them.

The assault rifle allows you to be prepared as a member of the unorganized militia as defined in the US Code. Also, this weapon is virtually impossible to conceal.

I found a list on ammoland.com that gives 101 reasons and these are just a small portion. Instead of slowly becoming a more controlled and regulated nation with less freedom in response to Newtown and other horrific events we should address the issues of parenting and the idea of helping those with mental issues."

The above was taken from http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-assault-weapons-be-allowed-in-the-united-states-as-means-of-allowing-individuals-to-defend-themselves.  The writer signed his name Annoymous.


The argument seems to be that being armed with an assault rifle is necessary for a person's protection and if assault rifles are not allowed to be owned by common citizens, then only the bad guys will have them.

It is argued that laws have not stopped illegal drug activity and have not slowed down the ability of bad guys to own and use guns.

On Friday, December 21, the NRA held a press conference (though they refused to take questions) and their solution to violence in schools was to provide armed guards.

The spokesman stated "the only thing that stops a bad man with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

I am all for hunting.  Hand guns are legal.  Shotguns and rifles are legal.  But there is no reason to continue to allow assault rifles to be sold to nonprofessionals or to permit people to buy guns at gun shows without a background check.

I do agree with the NRA spokesman that the current laws need to be more strictly enforced.  I also agree that many of the video games today promote violence.

There was a time when our country allowed children of any age to work in a factory. 

Image taken from http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/ (Photographs of Lewis W. Hine, Child Labor in America, 1908-1912)

There was a time when it was considered appropriate to hit children.  People even claimed this was sanctioned by the bible  ("spare the rod, spoil the child" - using the Book of Proverbs as a basis for this nonsense). 

Actually, there are people who still believe the Bible sanctions hitting children.  I feel sorry the Bible is so often used to justify a lot of crazy things.  Can you imagine Jesus hitting a child?  But I am digressing.

There was a time when smoking was considered appropriate. 

As a child I remember giving my father a carton of Lucky Strike cigarettes for Christmas.  The carton even came in a Christmas decorated design.

Over time our society progresses.  The idea that people need to own assault rifles is no longer appropriate.

No matter what the NRA and its supporters say, the assault rifle that was used to murder 20 children and 6 women was legally owned by the shooter's mother.   (She was killed, too, by her own guns.)  Sure, the shooter may still have gotten a gun and committed this awful crime.  But it would have been much harder if the gun were not legal.

The madness has to stop.  It is time for change.  And the time is now.