If this isn't the time, when is it? Twelve people were just brutally massacred for no reason other than they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have just as easily been Glendale, Burbank or Pasadena. Acts like these are random and have no borders or safety zones. We, and those we love, are all the next potential victims.
Frankly, I'm quite tired of hearing gun lobbyists use hyperbole to side-step the issue.
So I've decided to address some of that rhetoric and agree with it. That's right. I'm going to agree with gun lobbyists.
First, I agree that “guns don't kill people. People kill people.”
This has been a rallying cry for the National Rifle Assn. for years. Unfortunately, people kill a lot more people when they have semi-automatic weapons that can hold and fire 50 rounds per minute.
Second, I agree that criminals may still be able to get their hands on assault weapons. Why would I argue against that? Criminals will do just about anything. As such, we as a society should be doing everything we can to make it difficult for a criminal or mentally ill individual to obtain any weapon of mass destruction — and assault weapons should certainly be classified as such.
Third, I agree that you can kill someone with a knife or a baseball bat.
Aside from merely deflecting the argument away from gun control, this argument fails on an apples-to-apples level. I could be wrong, but I don't know of any instance where someone walked into a public place and killed a dozen people with a semi-automatic Louisville Slugger.
Finally, I wholeheartedly agree that the 2nd Amendment gives every American the right to bear arms and it should never be taken away.
