My Quest to Ban Assault Weapons

Over the last week or so I have been spending a lot of time thinking about what happened in Colorado and thinking about what I believe most Americans feel about gun laws.  I may be wrong but I suspect that most Americans feel like I do.  Although I don't believe that the 2d amendment gives Americans the right to own, acquire, use whatever guns they would like, I do believe that gun ownership is a right that most Americans should have.  That said, why do civilians need to have assault weapons?  I've never seen or heard of anyone hunting anything (except other humans) with assault weapons.  Do you need an assault weapon to protect your home or family?  I don't think so.  Why do you need to own one?

I understand that people like guns.  I understand that people like to shoot guns, like to hunt with guns and simply like to collect them and show them off to their friends.  I don't understand that but I'm cool with it.  Buy a gun, go to the range and shoot your gun as often as you like, go hunting if you must but you do not have to be against all regulation in order to protect the things you like to do with your gun.  If we did manage to get a serious gun law with the teeth to actually have an impact, I do not believe any of the activities most people want to partake in with their guns would be negatively affected.  Would it really change your life if you had to wait 5 days before you could bring your new non-assault gun home?  Of course not.

Now we come to the real issue...the NRA and similar organizations.  The NRA has spent a fortune convincing Americans that any regulation will immediately lead to the loss of their right to own a gun.  Bullshit!  A ban on civilians owning assault weapons, for example, will have zero impact on your right to own any other type of weapon.  Of course, if you really want to own an assault weapon, such a ban would negatively affect you.  However, I feel strongly enough about the use of assault weapons to injure and kill large numbers of innocent victims that I'm willing to say to those who have this overwhelming desire to own an assault weapon...you can't.  You don't need it and you can't have it.  If I were to consider allowing you to have an assault weapon, I would most definitely want you to wait for 5 days while I check you out before allowing you to take home your new gun.

Every time a politician has the nerve to raise the issue of gun regulation, the NRA drops a big bag of money to frighten gun owning Americans into believing that any regulation will immediately lead to loss of the average citizen's right to bear arms.  Once that dialog begins again and people constantly hear through commercials and other outlets that these rights are going to be lost, many people refuse to take the chance that those rights really would be lost.  It isn't worth it to most politicians to take a stand on the issue because the NRA is such a large contributor to political campaigns.  So the NRA continues their fear mongering and the rest of us continue to live without even the small protection that an assault weapon ban would bring.

I spend most of my time being extremely frustrated.  I really don't get it.  How could preventing civilian ownership of assault weapons be such a huge issue.  Can Americans really not see how assault weapons have been used in the last 15 years?  The United States has so many more deaths caused by guns than any other country in the world.  The differences between the US and other countries for deaths by guns is so incredibly large that it is shocking.  Granted that banning assault weapons wouldn't   immediately stop the bloodshed.  It would however be a good place to start.

It has gotten so bad here that innocent children die in their homes when the paths of bullets indiscriminately enter their homes.  Why aren't we up in arms to do something about this?  Why haven't we each contacted our representatives and let them know that we want a serious gun law that makes an impact and prevents criminals and people with mental conditions from buying assault weapons.  That seems like a country that I would want to live in.