ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

 

No individual of any age has a need or a right to own and carry an assault weapon or an AK-anything.  It is not needed for hunting, target practice or protection.  The one and only purpose of an assault rifle is in its name – to assault.

Conservative icon Barry Goldwater once said (highlight is mine) –

“I've never used an automatic or semi-automatic for hunting. There's no need to. They have no place in anybody's arsenal.”

We must totally ban all assault weapons.  It should be illegal for an individual to purchase, own and carry an AK-47, an assault rifle, or any such weapon, or anything that converts a traditional rifle into an assault weapon.  Upon passage of the ban legislation the government should begin a program to buy back all currently held assault weapons.   

The Second Amendment to the Constitution has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with a citizen’s personal right to carry any kind of gun. 

Conservative former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Warren Burger, nominated to the Court by Nixon, has observed –

“The Gun Lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American People by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime.”

He explained –

“The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies – the militia – would be maintained for the defense of the state.”

The state militias that existed in the time of the Revolution have been replaced by state police, the National Guard and the US Armed Forces.  State militias no longer exist – so the Second Amendment is obsolete and has no application today.

The sale, purchase, and use of guns should be regulated just as automobiles and boats are regulated – as Burger suggested in 1992.

I believe -

* All gun owners must have a valid license, which must be renewed every year. The initial issuance of a license must be based on a thorough and comprehensive background check.

* To get a license a person must pass a written test and a “practical” test. Gun licensees must demonstrate they know how to properly operate and maintain a gun.

* Underage individuals must not be allowed to own guns.  The minimum age for a driving license is usually 17, but the minimum age for owning a traditional gun should be 18.

* Gun owners must be required to have insurance similar to auto insurance.

* We must title and tag each gun at point of purchase, so each gun is registered in a local data base and law enforcement can know if a person is stockpiling an excessive number of guns.

* Guns must be inspected at least every other year.

We have had too many mass shooting tragedies not to act.  The Republican Party must acknowledge that American lives are more important than political contributions.