Assault Weapons Ban
On Monday, September 13, the Clinton-era Assault Weapons Ban expires. For information regarding this travesty of legislation, you can visit this site.
I haven't even been at this blogging thing for a month yet, but I can assure you regular readers that few things are more important to me than protecting my Second Amendment Rights. Guns don't kill people just by being...it takes somebody to pull the trigger to do that. I strongly urge you to write to your congressmen and urge them to not renew Diane Feinstien's attempt to revoke the rights of honest gun owners.
Laws that make something illegal because of what they look like are no different that discriminating against people because of tattoos or piercings. Gun ownership statistics are difficult to come by (for reasons I'll go into later) but in 1994, 192 million Americans owned firearms. While it is certainly possible that some of these are criminals, it would be ridiculous to suggest that they all are. First, because convicted felons lose the right to own a gun. And secondly...because if it were true there would be a heck of a lot more crime in this country. Why are gun ownership statistics difficult to come by? Hmmm. Could it be because it stigmatizes one as a gun nut-bubba-intent-on-killing-maiming-and-drinking-blood? Could it be because these people cherish the right to the point that they don't want anyone taking their guns for some reason? Some civic drive to rid the streets of crime? I'm not going to give up my diamond earrings or my handgun without a fight.
But my point is two-fold. First, you can't make something illegal because of what it looks like. It takes the actions of a human, purposely or accidentally to make these weapons kill. Moreover, most people are killed by someone they know. This suggests a personal nature to the crime that has little to do with weapon availability. If you have a fire in your belly over something, a car will do just as well as a knife or gun at getting the job done. My second point, is that criminals don't obey gun laws. They don't register. They don't bother going to safety classes. They don't get an FOID, they don't do a lot of things.
Why do law-abiding Americans own guns then? Is it because they want to murder somebody? Not usually. Most of these people are just concerned with preserving life and property. Others are sports enthusiasts. I have lived in a home that was burglarized. And this was in a well-to-do neighborhood. I was very nearly raped. I know many victims of rape. I was stalked in college. Do I want these things to happen again? Do I look forward to being victimized? Hell no! I'll be damned if anything of the like ever happens again. I will protect my life and liberty and that of my family with every last breath. If forced, I will squeeze the trigger, but only to defend myself or my family. There is nothing wrong with that!
When our home was burglarized, it took the local police two hours to arrive on the scene. And in the end, they never caught the guy. When I was very nearly raped there was no hope of intervention on the part of law enforcement. You are your first line of defense. If you wait for the cops...well, you'll be waiting a while, a time in which ANYTHING can and will happen. Owning a gun is proactive. You don't want to use it any more than you want to have to use your car insurance policy. But it is there in case of an emergency. Cops can only be reactive, unless they happen to stumble upon a crime in progress. I'd rather answer questions about the dead rapist on the floor than have to look on from above as my family mourns my passing.
No gun law is a good gun law. Write your congressmen and urge them NOT to renew this ban.
