Cassi Creek:
The predicted
outcome, in the aftermath of the Newtown school murders has been as
expected. The NRA has spewed forth a
torrent of misleading and blatantly untrue propaganda designed to spread fear
among gun owners, and to stir up anti-government sentiment.
There has
been no attempt to seize privately owned firearms and it is unlikely that there
will never be such an attempt. There
have been attempts to limit access to high rate of fire weapons, which are
modeled after weapons initially, designed for military purposes. The current proposed legislation to limit
firearms purchases targets appearance in too many instances. The aftermarket replacement of fixed stocks
with folding stocks, with flash suppresors, and other largely cosmetic features
allows anyone who wishes to modify the appearance of a rifle to do so.
What
increases the lethality of rifles into the assault-weapon range is the
effective rate of fire – rounds/minute – obtainable with unmodified
firearms. Bolt action, lever action,
pump action and other such firearms require mechanical action before each
bullet is chambered and fired.
Semi-automatics require only one round be chambered manually; then all
subsequent rounds in a magazine are chambered using the energy of the previous
shot.
Congress is
not listening to the public sentiment calling for better gun control at the
point of manufacture and sales. The NRA chooses
to make this battle between common sense controls and unlimited access to all
types of firearms.
Honestly, I
see little need for American citizens own assault-style weapons with
battlefield capacity magazines. I see no
justification for the various “militias” that have come into being. In almost every case, I’ve known these groups
of “patriot soldiers” are dramatically opposed to the Obama administration
and/or to the federal government they
tend to envision their selves as poised to overthrow a mythical tyrannical U.S.
government. They fail to understand that
such a government would have already infiltrated their “citizen militias” and
would be ready and able to scoop them up with units of the active duty armed
forces.
Despite all
public sentiment in favor of gun control, the Congress remains unwilling to
oppose the NRA’s fanaticism and political grasp. Those legislators who favor increased gun
control are afraid of the NRA’s power to fund opposing candidates in primary
and general elections. I see no probability
of any change in the current situation.
Despite this,
I intend to contact my legislators and make it known to them that I want
universal background checks to become the standard for all firearms sales.
Dinner tonight
is baked cod and haricot vert. The sun is shining.
The Oregon Trail beckons.
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