By John L. Micek
How many dead children does it take to finally move to restrict access to high-powered weapons of war?
Lawmakers in Texas provided us with an answer this week, as a bipartisan panel of state lawmakers voted to advance a bill raising the minimum age to purchase assault weapons, The New York Times reported.
“It was the most emotional vote I’ve ever taken, and I started crying after I made it,” said Republican state Rep. Sam Harless, a “yes” vote from the Houston area, said according to the Times. “That means my heart told me I made the right vote.”
It shouldn’t have taken nearly this long for the gun-loving Lone Star to take an action that is supported by a majority of Americans. But as the Times reports, the slaughter at a suburban shopping mall was the tipping point.
Three children were among the eight people who were gunned down at a shopping center in Allen, Texas, on May 6 by a shooter armed with an AR-15 style weapon. He was killed by police, according to published reports. Seven more people were wounded.
The shooting came in the middle of a bloody year for Texas, where Republicans, led by Gov. Greg Abbott, have put up a seemingly immovable wall of opposition to any effort to stem the bloodshed. The state’s chief executive has tried to equivocate the carnage away.
“We’ve seen an increased number of shootings in states with easy gun laws as well as states with very strict gun laws,” Aboott said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday earlier this month, according to CNN.
Speaking to Fox, Abbott argued there’s an increase in “anger and violence” and the root cause is “mental health problems.”
No, governor, there’s a gun problem.
Late last month, five people, in a neighborhood north of Houston, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed by a neighbor armed with an AR-15 style weapon. The shopping mall murders were just about a year after 19 children and two teachers were killed by an 18-year-old gunman armed with … you guessed it … an AR-15 style weapon, the Times reported.
In all, more than 13,900 people have lost their lives to gun violence so far this year, according to ABC News. Of that total, 491 of the dead were teenagers and 85 were children, the network reported.
The AR-15 and its imitators, known for their brutal efficiency, are the weapon of choice in these mass slaughters. The NRA, without a shred of irony, has called it “America’s Rifle,” according to NPR.
In March, the Washington Post, in an animation that should be required viewing for every elected official in the nation, detailed the horrific damage the weapon inflicts on the human body.
“The AR-15 fires bullets at such a high velocity — often in a barrage of 30 or even 100 in rapid succession — that it can eviscerate multiple people in seconds. A single bullet lands with a shock wave intense enough to blow apart a skull and demolish vital organs. The impact is even more acute on the compact body of a small child,” the Post reported.
Confronted with any suggestion that such destructive weapons should be kept out of civilian hands, gun rights absolutists pounce on the “shall not be infringed” verbiage appended to the Second Amendment.
Such arguments are not only nonsense, they are the ultimate in bad faith. No constitutional right is limitless. And as this comprehensive list published by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives makes clear, states can, and do, move to legally restrict access to weapons all the time.
Not only that, the United States government banned assault weapons for a decade from 1994 to 2004.
Opinions on the ban’s effectiveness have been hotly debated ever since. One 2004 study, conducted by the National Institute of Justice at the U.S. Justice Department, found that the number of gun crimes involving automatic weapons dropped by 17% in six cities that were studied, ABC News reported.
So, yes, it can be done. And it has been done in the past.
But back to Texas, where, as the Times reported, the long-term prospects for the bill raising the purchasing age from 18 to 21 appear remote.
But speaking to the Times, Texas Democrats believe Republicans will have no choice but to bow to the inevitable.
“The change of heart and the change of face on this vote … was not accidental,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairperson Trey Martinez Fischer told the Times. “It is a reflection of the pressure that is building in this building and just hit a tipping point.”
Time and again in the decade since schoolchildren were slaughtered in Newtown, Conn., and in every mass shooting since, gun violence reduction advocates have asked how many of America’s children would have to die before the nation came to its senses.
The answer, sadly, is probably an incalculable number more this year.
But if Texas can start waking up, there may finally be hope. It will not come fast enough to stop more families being robbed of their loved ones. But it may yet come.
And when it finally, finally does, we will ask ourselves, surveying the shattered homes and broken lives, why it took so long in the first place.
A 3-decade veteran of the news business, John L. Micek is the Pennsylvania Capital-Star’s Editor-in-Chief. An award-winning political reporter, Micek’s career has taken him from small town meetings and Chicago City Hall to Congress and the Pennsylvania Capitol. His weekly column on U.S. politics is syndicated to 800 newspapers nationwide by Cagle Syndicate. He also contributes commentary and analysis to broadcast outlets in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Micek’s first novel, “Ordinary Angels,” was released in 2019 by Sunbury Press.
Laurel says
Where are you, right to lifers?
crickets
crickets
crickets
more crickets
There are only two reasons for the AR15:
1.) mass murder, and
2.) for those who do not have the skill to shoot a watermelon with a rifle.
Skibum says
There might be one more reason why some of the gun nuts think they really, really “need” an AR15, and that is because they cannot afford a Corvette (to compensate for what they are lacking in the downstairs dept).
Enrique says
[Please comply with our comment policy. Thank you.–FL]
How many died of fentanyl cupcake? Guns have been part of our daily lives for hundreds of years. The only change is the mental illness that you spread. I know this will be blocked, because the real cowards here are on your side.
Laurel says
Enrique: I’ve never heard of fentanyl cupcakes. Something you cooked up? What does that have to do with AR15s? Also, I would think a coward would be in more need of an AR15 than someone who has confidence without it. Oh well, enjoy your cupcakes, strange as they are.
Eli says
I’m still stuck on “blow a human scull apart” absolutely bull crap. Ar15s are toys compared to a 30.06 that’s been common since the 1960s the only reasons it’s the weapon of choice is because it’s light and stupid proof. I use mine for coyote hunting. It would be improper to use for deer, 30.06 is a much faster kill for that. Outlaw a car and the drunk driver will drive a more dangerous truck!!!
Bob says
The Republican Party needs to start listening to the public that wants assault weapons ban. No one isn’t taking anyone’s guns away all the American people want is for military weapons stay in the military and off the streets of America. It is called caring about human lives of all ages.
If they continue not to listen it is going to cost them in upcoming elections.
Richard Smith says
It’s not a military rifle, it’s a semi auto which means you have to depress the trigger for each round to go off. It can not go full auto like the military M16 or M4 rifles.
Bill C says
A distinction without much of a difference. The AR-15, like its military version, is designed to kill people quickly and in large numbers, hence the term assault-style rifle. According to DARPA, the full assignation for the weapon issued to the military is “M16 Assault Rifle”.
Richard Smith says
So can my Ruger 10-22 with a 30rd mag. You have your opinion and I have my opinion…
Bill C says
Shopping centers, schools, nightclubs, etc. are civilian places, not war zones.
Skibum says
There are reasons why the AR15 specifically, and to a lesser extent other semi-automatic ASSAULT rifles are the weapon of choice for those who are bent on committing mass murder. And those reasons are that the killers know these weapons are extremely deadly by the type of massive wounds they make when the high velocity .223 caliber bullets impact the human body, and the fact that even though these weapons are not fully automatic, it is extremely easy even for a novice to empty an entire magazine of bullets in less than a minute. One not be an expert shot when you have the capability of letting loose a 30-round volley of ammo in quick succession. These weapons ARE definitely ASSAULT RIFLES, meant for killing a large number of people very quickly, no getting around that fact by trying to parse your terminology in a failed effort to make it seem like an AR15 is just like any other firearm because it is not! We don’t allow people to possess many types of extremely deadly things… no machine guns, grenade launchers, etc. so the 2nd Amendment is not a free-for-all, anything goes ticket to being in possession of any type of weapon that someone wants to have. You want to be specific to the forefathers’ knowledge and intention in direct correlation to our Constitution? Fine, go buy a musket.
DaleL says
The 2nd Amendment begins with, “A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State,…” As such, I think that the well regulated Militia of the United States should be able to keep (in their homes) and bear (in the service of their country) weapons such as an AR-15. (Police, National Guard, other Military)
However, the unorganized Militia, people like you and me, who are not well regulated (trained, etc.), should not. Regular people should be able to own, keep, and use weapons which are suitable for civilian purposes. Civilian uses include hunting, target practice, and self defense. Not one of those uses requires a large capacity detachable magazine. (Dirty Harry, 1971 movie, was satisfied with a six shot revolver. Admittedly it was a double action .44 magnum!)
A semi-automatic weapon, with a large capacity magazine, can fire 30 shots or more as fast as the trigger is pulled. It can also, with a detachable magazine, be reloaded in seconds. How many times on the news have we seen crime scenes with dozens of markers as to the location of spent shell casings. The use of a bump-stock, with an AR-15 style rifle, results in a nearly fully automatic machine gun.
I fully agree that all center-fire cartridge firearms that are manufactured, sold, or owned by regular Americans, should have fixed magazines containing no more than six cartridges. They also must be re-loadable one cartridge at a time. They cannot accommodate stripper clips or quick loading devices.
There is the huge problem that the gun industry has manufactured and sold large numbers of semi-automatic firearms which do use detachable magazines which can contain a large number of cartridges. Most of the owners of those firearms are law abiding people. I suggest that a buy back program be established for those people who wish to relinquish those firearms. Others, who wish to keep those firearms, should have to securely store them against theft (except while in legal use) and register them (for free, no fee).
In addition, no firearm in the USA should be manufactured that cannot pass a reasonable drop safety test. (Most handguns already do, but not all.)
Jimbo99 says
That would be a firm “No” from this voting household.
I would like to remind everyone, in every case of a threat of gun violence on campus, a child was the criminal. Unless FCSO & FlaglerLive is withholding those reports & news, there has not been a single instance in the history of Flagler County that a child’s safety from an AR-15 has ever been documented on the premises of a Flagler County School. Let’s not weaponize children to deny anyone the right to defend their castle. I come from the era where my parents made me ride my bicycle to register for Selective Service when I turned 18 years old. If I can be required to register for that, taxed for the development of the gun they want to ban. If I can be called in to defend America domestically & internationally. I reserve the right to familiarize myself with a derivative of the very firearm that I will be issued & trained to potentially die in combat with. And if I so choose to defend my life & home with that firearm, it should be made available to me. Candidly, the US Armed Forces have moved on from the M16 in favor of the M4A1.
https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-the-us-military-is-replacing-the-m16-2015-10
Pierre Tristam says
The country is a little bigger than Flagler County.
Deborah Coffey says
Sure, and “what you fear shall come upon you.” Look out, Jimbo!
http://todaysword.org/2011/11/29/reason-4-what-you-fear-will-come-upon-you/
Jimbo99 says
The juvenile delinquent criminals have already been on & around my property, damaged landscaping, mailbox as more of the obvious damage. I’m well aware of it, I even caught them in the act when the family moved & even migrated deeper into the neighborhood.
They are rock throwers too. The vandalism, Mommy & Daddy didn’t want to pay for the damages of their progeny. The rock throwing children, when confronted the child stated they didn’t throw rocks, yet I watched the children take the rocks out of a neighbor’s tree island/well, throw the rocks at the stop signs, found a way to miss that stop sign and I find the rocks in my driveway with dents & paint chips in the garage door. Confronted, child lied about throwing the rocks and was standing in the swale across the street with a handful of rocks. I’m not big on replacing things that another’s child damages. Believe it or not, I was a child once in this lifetime, I was never that little domestic & environmental terrorist. They’re on their way to becoming a bigger criminal than they already have become.
One thing I have noticed, they don’t own the homes they are living in, they’re transient renters/families with no stake in the property, not only do they damage the properties they live in, they migrate up & down the street & move from property to property leaving a wake of destruction in their aftermath. If the parents addressed the issue at home, they’re only on their best behaviors until they get out of immediate sight to do the same to their next & other victims. Why does FCSO have to issue 9 PM routines for locking cars ? We all have a good idea that it’s the children that are doing most of that too ? Look at the times of the year when it happens, Summer when they have time on their hands to be destructive, rather than constructive.
We all know here is no solution that completely eliminates this level of crime that has to be under reported statistically. Banning an AR-15 isn’t going to deter the rest of what these children are. Most kids are pretty good, but the bad apples, statistically that’s what they’ll become as the criminals they are. so let’s stop fooling ourselves that a gun ban on a specific type of firearm is a real solution. Most gun crimes don’t involve an AR-15, most AR-15 owners aren’t likely to commit a mass shooting even. And in virtually every school shooting, the AR-15/AK47/AK74 wasn’t the only firearm used in the commission of that crime.
“Notably, most individuals who engaged in mass shootings used handguns (77.2%), and 25.1% used assault rifles in the commission of their crimes.”
https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/public-mass-shootings-database-amasses-details-half-century-us-mass-shootings
Nancy N. says
You know there is a world outside Flagler County, right? A world where horrific school shootings were committed in places like Parkland, Uvalde and Sandyhook by shooters who were over 18? And it’s disingenuous to quote those statistics on mass shootings and weapons without context. It ignores the fact that those 25% that use assault rifles are by far the most DEADLY of mass shootings. No one is killing 30 people with a 9mm. But they can do it in a minute or two with an AR-15.
Bill C says
Kids will always find the “get off my lawn” guy in the neighborhood and taunt him. Interesting, an article about AR 15’s triggered a screed about a local child who is “that little domestic & environmental terrorist” who lied about throwing rocks.
JOE D says
I grew up around guns (my father owned two .22 rifles and two 16 gauge shot guns)
They were locked in the basement in a gun cabinet…and he would have almost KILLED us if my brother or I went near them unsupervised without his permission. They were for hunting ( pheasant and rabbits….sometimes squirrels). We ate what he shot…it was not just for SPORT ( although we started learning with tin cans).
When my brother and I were 15 and 16 he taught us to SAFELY use the guns at a gun range…I quickly found out what he meant by the shotgun “kicking back,” when I forgot to wedge the gun tightly against my shoulder BEFORE shooting
I have never owned a gun of my own since then, because I had children, and I just didn’t trust CURIOSITY and the chance I might fail to secure the gun properly ( you only need ONE TIME).
Why ANYONE would need a gun that fires 30-100 bullets bursting with one trigger pull is beyond me (self defense?…what….against 50-100 people?). The weapons were developed for MILITARY use, not primarily for self protection, and CERTAINLY not for hunting….you would pulverize any hunting game you shot with an automatic weapon.
Even Maryland, with it’s fairly tight gun laws, allows a semi-automatic hand gun with a maximum of a 10 bullet magazine. Florida’s new no permit, no background check, no mandatory training, law is completely RIDICULOUS! You are going to see more road rage shootings, more neighbor/neighbor shootings, and I am deathly afraid that we will see more violent school shootings in Florida, due to the easy access and lack of gun lock up security laws here
At least the Florida Legislature didn’t pass the drop in gun buying age BACK to age 18 from the 2018 law requiring gun owners to be 21, by the end of the Legislative session this year after passing the Florida House….but there’s always NEXT YEAR!!!!
And for those of you stuck on the SECOND AMENDMENT right to keep and bear arms…..don’t even TRY to justify that our founding fathers EVER IMAGINED there would be automatic weapons capable of killing 10+ people with one trigger pull, when they first wrote those laws, when single shot flint rifles and pistols were the NORM!?!
They would think us TOTALLY INSANE!!!
Richard Smith says
There semi auto not full auto. You have to depress each time for a round to go off.
c says
I just typed in ‘convert ar-15 from semi to full’ in Bing – and got “about 2,640,000 results” for links, instructions, and videos.
So the fallacy that this is a SEMI- auto weapon vs. a FULL auto is kind of dumb, ain’t it?
Land of no turn signals says says
Ridiculous.
Gail Walton says
Texas is seeing the light by increasing the age limit, while Florida’s Desantis has lowered it for assault type weapons!
Toto says
Most people (all of the ones who don’t get kickbacks from the NRA) are against these weapons. The majority favor background checks, red flag laws, waiting periods etc.
I would just like to know WHY decisions about guns, and in particular these assault weapons, are not put on ballots for voters to decide. These republican politicians are so out of touch with their constituents, it’s pitiful.
cgm says
once again he shooter should have been Red flagged. Mental health issue while in Army?
Local says
So are we going to ban Remington 223 next. They are semi-automatic rifles too that shoot the same exact shell just cosmetically different.
DaleL says
Semi-automatic rifles, including the Remington .223, need to have fixed magazines. It is not the cartridge that is the issue. It is the number of cartridges held in the magazine and that the magazine is detachable. Detachable magazines allow the shooter to reload in seconds. I am in favor of six cartridges as that is the number in most large frame revolvers. However, the number is up for debate. This should be a national law, not state by state.
Existing weapons can in many cases be retrofitted. Cross Armory makes an AR Fixed Mag at a reasonable price.
https://crossarmory.com/shop/cross-armory-ar-fixed-mag/
William Moya says
You’re both right, but to give some perspective as to my credentials on guns, as kids we got to go hunting with the grown ups and one time they gave us (my cousin and me) a .22 Winchester, pump, to learn to shoot, except they left us alone, what I remember the most is my cousin yelling at me because I was supposed to hit a branch instead of the rock next to the tree, I didn’t know at the time I was myopic, that came later. some years later i would go shooting with a friend that had a .35 revolver, in what a remember as a barn, sort a bowling alley, i did much better. As you both allude to it clever folks will find a way to improve any gun.
Motherworry says
If you really want to get serious about curtailing the use of the semi auto rifle or pistol for that matter, set a tax of $100.00 or more for a round. Heck, use a sliding scale based on caliber. $100.00 for a 50 cal, $75.00 for a 308, $60.00 for a 7.62, and so on. Face it weapons are used for a status symbol for the most part. People will also get their hands on one, but if they can’t afford the ammo…….
Jake says
SCOTUS would never rule this way, violates the 2nd Amendment.
c says
Also violates the Zero-th Amendment … “Never tick off the people who line your pockets”.
(with apologies to I. Asimov)
Ray W. says
Once again, the most important thing anyone needs to know about the law is as follows: “The law is what a judge says it is on the day he or she says it, and don’t ever forget it.” (My father taught me this before I went to law school. During his first year at law school, one of his professors told this to the class during a lecture, emphasizing that it was the most important thing they could learn while in law school.)
We don’t know how SCOTUS would rule on a tax on bullets. We do know that people are allowed to freely argue incessantly on how a court should rule, without ever knowing the answer until the court actually rules.
As an aside, does Florida impose a sales tax on bullets? How long has Florida imposed that sales tax on bullets? Has any court ruled that the sales tax violates the 2nd Amendment? Why would a different type of tax automatically violate the 2nd Amendment? It might, but we just do not yet know whether it does.
The Geode says
As I stated before, no ban can stop people with more than enough guns and willing to use them. Besides, they have enough banana clips, extendos, drums, and switches that do most of the damage in those areas that society pretends to care about while ignoring the wholesale slaughter that will eventually spill into THEIR neighborhood. I’ll bet they’ll address the problem when it affects THEM. AK47(s) are the LEAST of your problems. Then again 9mm sounds less sexy and doesn’t look as imposing as a gun people link to a military rifle…
A Concerned Observer says
When a carpenter does shoddy work resulting in an unsafe structure by cutting 2 X 4 framing to inconsistent lengths, do you blame his saw? Come on people. Climb down off the political bandwagon of myopic vision and vilify the shooter, not the gun. I grow weary of bleeding hearts prattling on with laments of the poor misunderstood, unloved perpetrator who was, after all, “good kid” or “just had a tough childhood”.
Local says
If they are going out they’re going to spend as much as it takes to get the ammo price doesn’t matter when it comes to people want to kill people
Ray W. says
Your comment reminds me of a conversation I had with my youngest son shortly after Russian forces had entered Crimea in 2014. He called me from a Fort Worth gun store parking lot. He had heard that a box truck filled with a supply of bullets was to soon to arrive at the store and he had driven there to buy as many bullets as he could get.
At that time, the Army had announced a large-scale military exercise for the nearby rolling hills of east-central Texas. The conspiracists of the day decided that this was a cover for President Obama to secretly bring in his private army to seize guns from Texans. The internet was awash with all kinds of theories to support this idea, and my son had heard of the theories from his buddies who had also recently served. My son had spent three years as a Naval air traffic controller at Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station, where his time spent among young Marines had introduced him to the joys of gun ownership; he still regularly spends time at gun ranges.
As we talked, my son described a developing madness when the box truck arrived, as people were calling their buddies to get to the store right away. Store employees brought a register out to the box truck and began selling boxes of bullets out of the back of the truck to the gathering throng, without even bringing the bullets into the store.
I asked my son if he would listen to me for a few minutes. He agreed. I asked if he knew that Russian forces disguised as Ukrainian separatists had invaded the Ukraine. He had. I asked him if he knew that the terrain of eastern Ukraine was similar to that of east-central Texas. He did not. I asked him if, after his five years in the Navy, he agreed that if you wanted to train soldiers to fight in Iraq, you would do so in America’s western desert areas and if you wanted to train soldiers to fight in the Ukraine, you would do so in the rolling hills of east-central Texas. He said that made sense to him.
I told him that only once in America’s recent history had the government enacted a law to take guns away from people who had lawfully purchased them, which was when fully automatic weapons were outlawed during Prohibition.
I then asked him if he really believed that a secret private army was coming to Texas to take his weapons. He agreed that that seemed unlikely.
I then asked him how much the store was charging for the bullets. He said much more than the normal price. How much were they getting for magazines? $50 per 30-round clip. How much for assault rifles? $1800. He told me he had paid $775 for one such rifle and $950 for the other; it had special attachments. When magazines were on sale, he had paid around $13 per clip for cheap quality items.
I asked him why he still had any of his weaponry. He protested that they were HIS guns. I told him that in a few months, after the madness had subsided, prices would drop back to normal.
He left the store without buying any bullets.
About a week later, he called to tell me he had sold everything and made quite a profit.
Several months later, he called to tell me he had fully restocked. He had bought 50 high-quality magazines on a half-price sale, stating that he wasn’t going to open the boxes in order to get a higher price the next time the madness descended on America. He hoped a Democrat would be elected president in 2016, whomever that turned out to be, because he wanted to make money again.
FlaglerLive readers, common sense is a process; it is not a result. If common sense is a process, then you have to go through the process for yourself, with the proper use of intellectual rigor. If common sense is a result, then someone else can tell you what common sense means, without any need for you to use intellectual rigor. Fox News has made billions telling people what common sense means, seldom with any use of intellectual rigor. This business model has worked for Fox News for decades.
I simply took the time to ask my youngest son to trust that I would not mislead him, and I then asked him a number of questions. I listened to his answers. In the end, he concluded that it would not be in his best financial interest to listen to the madness.
The next time the madness descended onto Fort Worth, he sold several thousand bullets to a desperate and fearful gun owner, and then restocked when prices returned to normal.
Laurel says
Ray W.: Yes, the only conspiracy was developed by the gun manufacturing industry, and it worked very well. To this day, people still believe Obama was after their guns, just like they believe he was born in Kenya.
News medias and social medias are heavily to blame for our problems today.
James says
True, but don’t you feel a bit uneasy that a large number of our fellow citizens… private citizens, that is… still cling to the notion that they are the direct successors to the Minutemen? And with that notion, justify owning these assault style weapons?
If your average citizen has to wake up in the middle of the night, grab their AR-15 and “answer the call” to fight back “an outside enemy” in our modern era, it would be too late… they would be already dead. This is why we continue have a standing, (hopefully) organized armed service(s). By the way, we pay a good deal of taxes for this.
Which leads me to the question, why groups of average citizens would feel this need to have such weapons… do they fear their fellow citizens that much?
Just an observation.
James says
I guess Jimbo99 has responded in his reply to Deborah Coffey a few comments above.
My query answered.
Skibum says
Last I checked, saws haven’t been in the news over the past few decades as the weapon of choice when committing mass murder. Your logic is like comparing apples to elephants. If you really believe that inanimate objects like guns aren’t somehow the problem and it is just the shooter, then we as a society shouldn’t have any regulations on inanimate, deadly things like that? And you would be fine not having any restrictions on any type of weapons, even grenades, explosives, cannons, how about nuclear bombs? Trying to play Carnac the all-seeing and hope only the right people get access to deadly things is always a loser’s bet unless only YOU can see inside an individual’s mind. People are unpredictable, that is why there are LAWS and why it is a must that certain types of weapons need to be banned.
Nancy N says
You are making the wrong comparison. When a trained person (a carpenter, a police officer) misuses their tool….yes, we blame the person. However, when those tools are in the hands of people who are untrained (hobbyists, the general public) we recognize that they are dangerous and that is why there are all sorts of regulations around using them, safety regulations for their design, etc. No one is credibly asking for a ban on ALL weapons….they are asking effectively for the equivalent of a recall on a specific model that has been proven to be unsafe for the public.
Seriously, there’s something majorly messed up about the fact that it is harder for a 19 year old to buy a case of spray paint in this state than to buy an AR-15.
larry krasner says
Not a solution but an idea to help: I have seen a number of ER MD interviews about the catastrophic damage to the human body caused by the special ammunition for these weapons. Bullets tumble through the body and fragment, usually causing extensive damage to multiple organs that is too much for surgeons to fix quickly enough. If these rifles are just for target shooting and other ‘entertainment,” why not make only small, less lethal bullets?
I grow weary of liars and fools says
@Do the math
https://www.google.com/search?q=gun+deaths+by+country
James says
‘… “It was the most emotional vote I’ve ever taken, and I started crying after I made it,” said Republican state Rep. Sam Harless, a “yes” vote from the Houston area, said according to the Times. “That means my heart told me I made the right vote.” …’
Pathetic a**hole.
He should have voted “yes” long ago.
Just my opinion.
Carol says
Funny how all these Liberals want “stricter gun laws” like it’s the gun that kills people. People kill people. Why aren’t Liberals addressing mental health?
JOE D says
You are probably watching the WRONG news outlets….your so called “liberals “ ARE calling for more money for mental health services! As a Masters prepared Clinical Nurse Specialist and Certification Nurse Case Manager who worked as a Child and Family therapist for over 10 years, until the “on call “ hours got too much for my family life, the Mental Health Services groups have been BEGGING for years, more funding for available/affordable mental health services ( that don’t have a 4 + week waiting list for non-ER crisis services due to inadequate staffing)
And yes the GOP media CAMERA OPS do show GOP leadership ( including Governor Greg Abbott of Texas) SAYING more mental health services are needed….BUT….when the legislatures allocate the REAL $$$ budgets…..mental health, and YOUTH services get “micro” pennies out of the State and Federal budgets, because GOP leaders in many instances want to “keep a lid on EXCESSIVE government spending by LIBERALS .”
Don’t make me LAUGH!!
Nancy N says
Liberals tried to address mental health with an insurance law that would have given nearly everyone in the country insurance coverage to access mental health care. Gun-loving conservatives have done everything possible to gut that law. Is it not conservatives’ responsibility as well to address mental health? It’s hypocritical to sit back and demand solutions while breaking the ones already implemented.
Laurel says
Carol: Funny how all the far right, right to lifers are supportive of the number one killer of children, which is gunfire.
Hmmm says
QUESTION…ban AR15 style rifles, and then what? Shootings will stop? A sicko cant run up in walmart with 2 concealed pistols holding 17 shots a piece with extra mags? Will criminals be upset and forfeit their firearms and mental health issues vanish? Whats the answer?
Dwayne says
I do own a AR 15 I hunt wit it. Also I have more than one gun in my home.I have 4 sons that have AR s also .They have been brought up to respect weapons. Used to hunt and protect there homes and families .It is not the weapons fault. It is the person behind it.
Dan Beasley says
beating a dead horse. Guns will never be outlawed in this country and for good reason. Think now, would you rather wait 10 minutes for the police to show up when someones breaking in your house or have that semi auto to protect your family in your hands. Not even an option for me.
KODIAK440 says
These comments are gold, I’m sure they will eventually ban the rifle with all the snowflakes crying all the time. Banning one style of rifle isn’t going to change anything, it will just get replaced by something else until the cycle continues. The fact you people think any change will come from this are a joke.
Geri says
Civilized countries that regulate guns have a tiny fraction of our number of gun deaths. Their children do not live in fear as ours do. We should be ashamed. All countries have mentally ill people – it’s the guns that make the difference. Yes, a determined, calculating criminal will probably get around most gun laws. But in our country, any troubled young man having a bad week can buy an assault weapon with no waiting period and no background check, and proceed to take out his anger and misery on innocent people. As for the 2nd Amendment, it was about having defenders at a time when our young country had no standing army. It has nothing to do with our modern world.