Posting this from 30000+ ft
24 December 2012
17 December 2012
Gun-grabbers
It happens every time.
A tragedy like the massacre of 27 adults and children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, is cause to mourn for most rational people. For the left-wing gun grabbers, it's a time to act, before strong emotions give way to logic and reason.
Soledad O'Brien goes on about how "a rational person could say that having access to a high-powered semiautomatic rifle is inappropriate. That there's no reason to go deer hunting with that, there's no reason to have access to that. And that is the connection that these killers have access to those weapons."
Ms. O'Brien, do you know what a semi-automatic rifle is? It fires a single bullet every time the trigger is pulled.
So does a revolver.
But the word "semi-automatic" gets gun-control advocates in a tizzy. I think they picture a hail of bullets spewing from the barrel and tearing through the flesh of innocents. Yes, the bullets come out a rate defined by how fast the shooter can squeeze the trigger and for the gun to load the next bullet from the magazine.
What galls me is this attitude of "We know what's best for you." It's not just limited to guns. Drive an SUV? These nosy, ruthless bastards will stop at nothing to force you drive a hybrid or electric vehicle with the relative safety of a gas tank inside a cardboard box. But you're getting great gas mileage, they'll tell you. You're saving the planet!
But I can't haul lumber for my home addition, or river rock for my landscaping project.
Well, you don't need that much space to live in, anyway. And your desire to not live in a cramped shitty apartment in a dense, high-tax, crime-ridden urban center contributes to urban sprawl, and prevents us from controlling all aspects of your life!
But that's the point!
The gun-grabbers then try to tell you that the point of the Second Amendment is for a militia. Even if that interpretation was accurate (and the learned folks in the black robes in the highest court of the land do not think it is), the militia was made of citizenry who often brought their own weapons to the field of battle. That's what distinguishes a militia from an army. As Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia observed, if the Second Amendment is meant to apply to collective rights, it is unique amongst the other rights all reserved to individuals in the Constitution.
Then there's the inconvenient facts in this particular case:
A tragedy like the massacre of 27 adults and children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, is cause to mourn for most rational people. For the left-wing gun grabbers, it's a time to act, before strong emotions give way to logic and reason.
Soledad O'Brien goes on about how "a rational person could say that having access to a high-powered semiautomatic rifle is inappropriate. That there's no reason to go deer hunting with that, there's no reason to have access to that. And that is the connection that these killers have access to those weapons."
Ms. O'Brien, do you know what a semi-automatic rifle is? It fires a single bullet every time the trigger is pulled.
So does a revolver.
But the word "semi-automatic" gets gun-control advocates in a tizzy. I think they picture a hail of bullets spewing from the barrel and tearing through the flesh of innocents. Yes, the bullets come out a rate defined by how fast the shooter can squeeze the trigger and for the gun to load the next bullet from the magazine.
What galls me is this attitude of "We know what's best for you." It's not just limited to guns. Drive an SUV? These nosy, ruthless bastards will stop at nothing to force you drive a hybrid or electric vehicle with the relative safety of a gas tank inside a cardboard box. But you're getting great gas mileage, they'll tell you. You're saving the planet!
But I can't haul lumber for my home addition, or river rock for my landscaping project.
Well, you don't need that much space to live in, anyway. And your desire to not live in a cramped shitty apartment in a dense, high-tax, crime-ridden urban center contributes to urban sprawl, and prevents us from controlling all aspects of your life!
But that's the point!
The gun-grabbers then try to tell you that the point of the Second Amendment is for a militia. Even if that interpretation was accurate (and the learned folks in the black robes in the highest court of the land do not think it is), the militia was made of citizenry who often brought their own weapons to the field of battle. That's what distinguishes a militia from an army. As Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia observed, if the Second Amendment is meant to apply to collective rights, it is unique amongst the other rights all reserved to individuals in the Constitution.
Then there's the inconvenient facts in this particular case:
- Adam Lanza, with his history of mental illness, did not legally obtain the firearms used in the shooting. They were registered to his mother.
- Indications are that Lanza attempted to purchase a "long gun" about a week before the shooting, but was denied because he didn't want to subject to the required background check and 14-day waiting period. Sounds like someone who either was impatient or knew he would be rejected. At this time, it's unclear whether Lanza had been diagnosed with mental illness. If he had, the federal authorities would know, and he could forget about the gun. By refusing to submit to a background check and thus in effect withdrawing his application for the gun, Lanza may well have avoided showing up on the feds' radar.
- The Bushmaster .223 rifle, reportedly used in the shooting, is a semi-automatic rifle, but it is not an assault rifle. An assault rifle is a select-fire weapon, capable of burst or automatic fire.
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