Posted on 06/13/2016 6:35:49 AM PDT by pabianice
The details are different, but the story is the same: A killer with access to military-style weaponry mows down innocent Americans in cold blood. On Sunday it was apparently a self-radicalized Muslim who murdered 49 patrons of a gay nightclub in Orlando. In 2012, it was a mentally ill man with the same type of gun who killed 26 at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. Next, who knows?
It makes no more sense to blame Islam for the Orlando shooting than it would to blame mental illness for the Sandy Hook massacre. The common thread and decisive factor in those and so many other mass shootings was the availability of powerful semiautomatic weapons that serve no purpose but to kill. It’s not likely the nation will ever be free of malcontents, whether they’re homophobic religious zealots or unstable nuts. But it could be free from the guns that enable them to do so much harm, so easily.
The weapon used in Newtown and Orlando, the AR-15, must be banned for civilian use, along with other military-style guns. The assault rifle ban, passed under President Clinton but allowed to expire under George W. Bush, must be restored permanently. It would not stop all killings. But it would make it much harder for lone-wolf terrorists and troubled young men to equip themselves for mass carnage. The government should forbid the sale of guns to individuals on the terror watch list. There also should be no sales allowed of any weapon without background checks, even if the purchase happens at a gun show.
Those ideas are not new and have widespread support, but opposition from the gun lobby has repeatedly thwarted them. Even reasonable hunting enthusiasts and Second Amendment advocates agree that every constitutional right has a limit.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...
Being on a list won’t prevent one from buying a gun. Otherwise every republican gun owner would get put on the list, every tea party member, and every member of a patriot group.
It’s taking away a right and convicting someone without proving anything, just saying they are a terrorist threat.
Even though I have a firearm I still pray.
Oh Lord, guide my hands, sharpen my eye. Amen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.