Columbine, Sandy Hook, now Parkland: each of these tragic school mass shootings lit the fires of outrage across the U.S. The outrage was pointed at one thing and one thing only: guns.
Gun control/gun rights join illegal immigration as the most polarizing issues of the day — for both the Left and Right. These illustrate a great divide between Americans that is just 2 divides among dozens in the Country that are not only increasing daily in numbers, but are like a tsunami destroying much of the American moral and spiritual infrastructure that has survived attacks of all kinds for several centuries.
Like most, this latest divide regarding gun issues requires fuel to perpetuate its existence by giving it nutrients necessary to grow. That fuel has been the controversies that pop up every time there is a school shooting, mass shooting, or cop shooting of a black man.
Leftists almost all think laws need to be changed to outlaw gun ownership overall or at least of guns they term “assault weapons,” which actually are anything but assault weapons. When that term in used, it references almost always the AR-15, which is a semi-automatic rifle that looks similar to the military fully automatic version of the AR-15: the M-4.
The truths that counter everyone of these emotional cries for strict gun control fall on deaf ears. The Left have even recruited massive numbers of school children, teachers, and administrative educators for demonstrations of all kinds against guns. It is ironic that those who live their lives in the education system to obtain truths and knowledge totally ignore any quest for finding the truth of this issue and rely on the purely emotional remedy: gun control.
We will not spend a lot of time to list for you all the facts about gun violence, gun deaths, gun ownership, or assault rifles. But it is important to consider the truth. And the truth of the matter can be boiled down to these simple truths:
- The 2nd Amendment has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court to allow private ownership of handguns and long guns by Americans for personal security;
- AR-15’s are NOT automatic weapons. Fully automatic handguns and long guns have been illegal for private ownership for some time. To fire an AR-15 or any semi-automatic handgun, the trigger when pulled fires one bullet. The next shell is “automatically” loaded into the chamber for the next shot, but the trigger must be released and pulled again to fire that bullet. Any automatic weapon will fire multiple times with the pulling and holding the trigger;
- Almost all semi-automatic guns are handguns with magazines that hold an average of 9 shells that can be fired without reloading;
- Private gun ownership cannot be legally stopped or stripped away by any government entity without a repeal or re-structuring of the 2nd Amendment. The possibility of that happening is minute at best;
- Those local and state governments that have passed laws abridging the ownership or possession of legally obtained weapons are facing certain overturn by the U.S. Supreme Court as it has done so previously.
The Real Effect of Desired Gun Control/Confiscation
Consider for a moment “IF” the federal government passed laws restricting or terminating rights of Americans to own firearms and who it would impact the most. This citizen pointed out in a very emotional outburst before the Greensboro City Council just who would be impacted the most:
https://youtu.be/vo_X53dNTS8
Summary
Let’s face it: this entire conversation is fueled primarily by the Left who are using gun violence and gun control along with immigration reform as the dog whistle to rally the troops — Democrat voters — to head to the polls in opposition to conservative candidates who support the 2nd Amendment. The hope of these Leftists? To fight until they see every privately-owned gun taken from the hands of private citizens after which the federal government (which would be under Democrat control) would determine the use of ALL guns and who would be eligible to possess and use them. It does not matter to the Left that the right of private gun ownership is allowed by the 2nd Amendment. The Left today live in a vacuum void of any consideration of the Nation’s laws. If Leftists like an idea, then it’s right and any counter opinion is wrong….period.
Why are the Dems so set on these 2 issues for the 2018 and 202o elections? They have NO substantive issues on which they can run! They voted unanimously against tax cuts for 90+ percent of Americans, they voted almost totally to keep Obamacare in place ignoring its skyrocketing costs to Americans and its almost unimaginable failure to deliver health insurance coverage and subsequent medical treatment in a cost-effective manner. Democrats under Obama could not deliver with a comprehensive immigration plan and still refuse to join President Trump and Republicans in revising the plan that has been on the table for about 6 months to in bi-partisan fashion fix the immigration problem. And then there’s gun control. After these purely emotional election issues, the Democrats have nothing they can even hint is “their” policy on any important American issue. Emotion is all they have.
Let’s look at the truth in these issues and possible plans to repair any problems. (Gee, that is a novel idea: to identify problems and work together to find and implement solutions!)
- We don’t blame or confiscate the car when someone dies in a hit-and-run
- We don’t don’t blame knives or confiscate knives used to kill in stabbings
- We don’t blame matches or try to shut down match manufacturing companies when matches light fires as acts of arson
Then why do we….
- Blame pharmaceutical companies when someone overdoses on prescription medication?
- Blame guns that are used to commit shootings in which innocents are killed rather than blaming the person or persons who pulls the trigger?
Answer: the political correctness of the emotional cause is necessary for the Left to deflect the attention of American voters away from substantive issues of life for average Americans to make voting decisions based solely on emotion rather than on fact.
Let’s just hope Americans are smarter than Democrats think they are.
