Hands off my "assault weapons," Mr. President.
I get it. A lot of people are uncomfortable with guns. A lot of
people think the world would be better off without guns. Lots of folks
aren't familiar with guns and wouldn't know a "machine gun" from a
"semiautomatic." And finally, lots of folks don't care to find out --
they think guns are scary and that they hurt people (and maybe they have a loved one was injured or killed by a gun).
Despite my gun collection, I agree that it would be a nicer world if nobody had guns. Unfortunately, that's simply not the reality we live in. The genie's left the bottle: the horse has long since left the barn. Guns are prolific in our society and no amount of law will reverse that.
Given the reality we live in, I've chosen to get training and to keep a number of firearms in my home. In the very unlikely event that some terrible day comes, I will be prepared to defend my family (or hunt to eat). I respect the views of others who choose another path...but I cannot accept those who, out of their own fears and/or ignorance, would disarm me or my family.
I was disappointed to read of President Obama's push to reintroduce the 1994 'assault weapon' ban. It was a really bad idea in 1994, and it's a really bad idea today. Those who support the idea: do you realize that you're criminalizing rifes which are fundamentally IDENTICAL to other, perfectly legal rifles? Do you realize that "machine guns" are already illegal (and have been since the 40's)? Do you realize that so-called "assault rifles" are in no way more powerful nor mor dangerous than any other rifles...and despite Hollywood's depictions, assault rifles are only ever used in a vanishingly small % of crimes? What's really your motivation here, beyond the usual BS 'saving the children' argument-which-we-use-for-everything?
I wonder how many TPM readers support this latest round of disarming-the-populace (and what their reasons are)?
Despite my gun collection, I agree that it would be a nicer world if nobody had guns. Unfortunately, that's simply not the reality we live in. The genie's left the bottle: the horse has long since left the barn. Guns are prolific in our society and no amount of law will reverse that.
Given the reality we live in, I've chosen to get training and to keep a number of firearms in my home. In the very unlikely event that some terrible day comes, I will be prepared to defend my family (or hunt to eat). I respect the views of others who choose another path...but I cannot accept those who, out of their own fears and/or ignorance, would disarm me or my family.
I was disappointed to read of President Obama's push to reintroduce the 1994 'assault weapon' ban. It was a really bad idea in 1994, and it's a really bad idea today. Those who support the idea: do you realize that you're criminalizing rifes which are fundamentally IDENTICAL to other, perfectly legal rifles? Do you realize that "machine guns" are already illegal (and have been since the 40's)? Do you realize that so-called "assault rifles" are in no way more powerful nor mor dangerous than any other rifles...and despite Hollywood's depictions, assault rifles are only ever used in a vanishingly small % of crimes? What's really your motivation here, beyond the usual BS 'saving the children' argument-which-we-use-for-everything?
I wonder how many TPM readers support this latest round of disarming-the-populace (and what their reasons are)?
