Opinion
Letter to the AmmoLand Editor
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- I read the Aug 4th, 2019 New York Post article calling for a Gun Ban by the President. It was, as expected, based on emotion and would have no effect on terror; it would only make millions of normally law-abiding Americans into criminals.
It said, “America is terrified.” Well, after the news running 24/7 stories on shootings and raising the killers to star status, it is no wonder. One of them even explained that it is the status that he was enthralled by and sought. That isn’t news to anyone. The press recognized that and agreed not to publicize the names of shooters long ago. That didn’t even last until the next shooting. They are complicit in all the shootings because they aggrandize the shooters.
The NYP said, “They just want the killings to stop.” Everybody does. Banning commonly owned rifles won’t do it. Even if every gun, of all types, suddenly disappeared, the killings wouldn’t stop. The Brits and French are learning that trucks, knives, and fires are now their preferred means of terror. EVIL doesn’t care about laws.
The NYP said, “But the Second Amendment leaves ample room for regulating gun rights, just as every other constitutional right has its limits.” This shows that they slept through Civics class, as did a large part of our Judicial system. The Bill of Rights is supposed to be an inviolate constraint on the government. Justice Storey started attacking that when Hamilton complained about how it hindered him. You DO have the Right to shout “FIRE” in a crowded theater if there is a fire. You have the Right to do it if there isn’t one, you have to suffer the legal consequences of your actions, though. Something that is in less regard these days.
The NYP made fun of the President for listening to the NRA when it comes to passing common-sense gun laws. They said that it would be, “Far wiser to appeal now to the (much more numerous) Americans who hunt or keep guns for self-defense but are appalled by the endless string of mass shootings.” and that he should, “Come up with answers. Now. Beginning with the return of an assault-weapons ban.” The NRA is only respected by its enemies and politicians. People who actually know anything about it call it Negotiating Rights Away. It has, since its inception, backed all the major violations of the Second Amendment and helped to write most of the laws destroying it. Luckily for the people who are anti-gun, it works well with the ignorant as a paper tiger. The Assault Weapons Ban has been shown, by the FBI, to have had NO effect. That is rarely reported. Furthermore, the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting and is only peripherally involved in self-defense, something that is NEVER addressed.
The NYP stated, “The Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects the right to own “guns in common use.” That doesn’t cover the semiautomatic weapons regularly used only in mass shootings.” The reality is that semi-automatic weapons ARE in common usage and have been for 100 years and more, and are used in self-defense and hunting. It is only recently that they have made the news and been glorified as “killing machines” or “weapons of war.” That happened when people moved into cities and became ignorant of guns. At that point, they became easy to lie to and manipulate, which is exactly what happened.
The place in the article where they finally make sense is near the end, but it too has flaws. The NYP says, “This ban would only be part of the response: Keep improving background checks, find wiser approaches to mental health, get every state to pass a red-flag law (do a federal one, too, even if issuing these restraining orders is mainly the job of state courts). And by all means, do as Sen. Elizabeth Warren suggested in last week’s Democratic debate and “double down on the research and find out what really works.”
Most of the killers passed a NICS check, that has proven to be a waste of time, money, and police resources, much like the TSA. Improving mental health resources might help with the problem, but it is unlikely. Red Flag orders are a constitutional disaster and are used as weapons by angry neighbors, political rivals and spouses during divorce proceedings, they are just another form of SWATting rather than a useful method of deterring crime. If REAL research could be done to find an answer to the problem, as opposed to funding the anti-gun forces, that would be very helpful.
What WOULD help is the Press not giving the killers glory. Don’t state their names; don’t run continuous coverage. Let the killers die with a whimper, not resonate with a bang. But that doesn’t drive readership or the TV ratings, so it isn’t going to happen.
As a result, law-abiding people will continue to be blamed for the actions of criminals as abetted by the Press, and cheered by the Left.
The NYP is disingenuous at the end where it states, “One of the big reasons that crime has fallen so far in New York City is a crackdown on guns. Their ownership is restricted, and the NYPD is focused on getting illegal ones off the street. Gun control works.” The crime rates have been falling for 40 years. If tough anti-gun laws worked, Baltimore and Chicago would be crime-free, California wouldn’t have a gang left in it. It doesn’t take much intelligence to see that the truth is elsewhere, but even that seems beyond the Democrats. Antifa, their public service arm, makes it clear that it isn’t one of their concerns, especially when some of the killers are Antifa members. They’ve graduated from repressing Freedom of Speech and attacking lawful demonstrators to attacking ICE and anyone who dares to disagree with them, or even look different. THEY are the true racists.
The NYP finishes with, “Guns don’t kill people, people do,” says the cliché. But the twisted and the evil can kill a lot more people when handed a murder machine. Our Founding Fathers gave us the right to bear arms in a time of muskets. They did not foresee a time when one 21-year-old could kill 20 people in the span of minutes thanks to poisonous beliefs and an assault weapon.” Our Founders knew about semi-automatic weapons and rifles not just about muskets, that lack of knowledge is owned by those who want to disarm the US. They most definitely did understand poisonous beliefs and mass murder; they were watching it happen before their eyes by Gates and his men.
Neill DeGrasse just got in trouble for stating the truth, something the Left only has a passing acquaintance with. He pointed out things that kill far more people every day but are condoned without thought. That tells us where the reality is, not about saving lives, but about disarming the populace, EXACTLY the point of the Second Amendment.
Do not bow to the heat of the moment or the pressuring and posturing of either cowards or those who betray their Oaths of Office. Your Duty is to defend not just the people of this country, but the Constitution itself. Without the Law of the Land, all our laws and country will fall.
Dave in Fairfax
Don’t see “in common use” or “suitable for sporting purposes” in my copy of the Second Amendment, ”Killing is a matter of will, not weapons. You cannot control the act itself by passing laws about the means employed.” as stated by the late Col Jeff Cooper, 1958, handgun expert and founder of Gunsite Academy A politician with a law never stops a bad guy with a gun. He only controls the good guys, which is his true agenda. The bad guy with a gun…..or the mentally deficient guy with a gun……or the terribly distraught family member of a shooting victim…….or… Read more »
Who fought the war of 1812?..I wonder if it was the militia?..I think militia is stated in the 2nd amendment!..The 1792 militia act required every man to be armed!..The bill of rights restrict government!..regulate means adjust to a particular standard, rate, amount, degree etc. It says “shall not be infringed” so how could that be construed to mean government control by enacting restrictions or bans?
These socialists demand more gun laws, when the plethora of gun laws already on the books has not stopped a single attack on Unprotected and UNARMED people in a “gun free” zone.
In two instances, the Las Vegas concert and broward county school shootings, armed leo waited outside while the massacre continued. This is inexcusable.
We should address the problem from the other end. Constitutional carry, or even the extreme of requiring that citizens be armed as is the law in Kennesaw Georgia.
Killing is not so much fun when the victims shoot back.
How people forget..when ii is convenient to do so…
VA Navy Yard mass shooting, gunaman was contractor, passed firearm checks to puschase shotgun and work as contractor.
Ft. Hood shooting, US Army Officer and a doctor, purchased the firearm legally but murdered fellow soldiers on base.
FL movie shooting, retired police officer got mad and shot a father of two because he tossed popcorn in his face.
Background checks, ‘common sense’ or otherwise, are only good when processed, just like your Driver License.
When you walk out of the DMV you either drive responsibility or like a maniac.
The worst thing we can do is “just do something.” Every proposed “solution” needs to be accompanied by an explanation of how it would help, and give examples of mass killings that “solution” may have prevented. 95% of the “solutions” would disappear if considered using reason and facts. Any proposal that focuses on the inanimate tool used by the killer instead of the killer himself will fail*. Proposals that focus on the killer behind the trigger will be much more successful. * Most of these proposals will fail and are designed to fail. The idea is to try one thing… Read more »
Weapons of war were banned in 1986. What they want to ban now are firearms that look like the banned ones. Soon everything of a higher caliber than a pea shooter will be banned. Wait, in CA a pea shooter is already illegal if it uses a plastic straw.
Sedition is punishable federal crime and form of domestic terrorism and occurs when you try to circumvent the 2nd Amendment. SCOTUS has said It is well established that the deprivation of constitutional rights ‘unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.’
Long ago, when I was serving in the Army, Carter was president (embarrassingly) and after that Regan was president. When I was overseas, my unit was one of only a very few that was issued live ammo during “peace time”. We dealt with terrorism nearly daily. There were several incidents where many, many people died or were wounded. There was even a high ranking official who was captured by a terrorist org. Yet, none of this made the evening news. Why? Because Ragan rightly ordered that terrorists don’t get free press. They do love to flaunt their evil work. The… Read more »
DB, spot on. Laws cannot remove evil from the heart of man.
BTW, my wife was in Germany working on missile systems when that happened.
@ DP,
Wisely spoken!
Murder is already illegal. Leave our 2nd A rights alone !
I know I am Preaching to the choir, but gun laws do nothing to protect us from law breakers. Furthermore the more gun laws imposed on law abiding citizens just make it easier for Terrorists to carry out their evil upon us. So actually what the all the gun grabbers want will just make things worse. How many laws do you have to break to perform a Terrorist act anyway? Arming qualified people at our Schools and allowing constitutional carry is the real protection for our citizens. It is clear we have an oppressive Government with control of our media.… Read more »
I disagree with the premise of making mass murderers disappear from the news. Do not give them a voice, agreed. But when it comes to their patterns of miscreant behavior that information should be spread far and wide. Juvenile records should be immediately opened and published on these clowns, neighbors and school officials interviewed and the sordid details of their pathetic lives be spread far and wide for all to see. In nearly every one of these cases juvenile records laws protect them from having their patterns of behavior exposed to the public. Put it out there and vilify them.
Vilification still gets their name out their. These twisted people want attention and don’t care if it’s from being in the history books as a mass murderer. They want notoriety and seek infamy.
nrringlee, you are playing right into their hands. These are people who can think of nothing better than to go down in history as the newest “most horrible monster”. Publishing all their details would be the best blessing that you could give them. Anonymity is what they fear, give them that.
Your point is correct. They want infamy. The records from their juvenile past, though not released to the public, should be entered into the NICS background check system.
How about executions of these pos? Fastracked since its easily proven they did it!
Whats left goes deep into the nearest landfill. Heck,id be for harvesting their organs
Of course that would help, but the old media saying “if it bleeds it leads ” holds true, so they secretly love mass shootings because it is a money maker for them.
That is the problem, it’s the old, “Follow the money” as well as “If it bleeds, it ledes.”
Yes, they sure do love them.