64-year old shooter kills at least 50 and wounds over 400 at Las Vegas concert. The worst shooting in American History.
Please read the headline ten times to let the facts sink in. How can a 64-year old working by himself kill and wound so many people in so short a time? He used an automatic weapon, of course. An automatic weapon. An automatic weapon. An automatic weapon.
Why do we allow deranged people to buy automatic weapons, which are designed just for killing people. Or anyone, for that matter. They should only be used by our servicemen and women -- to kill our arch enemies, not to kill our own citizens. And you don't hunt squirrels with an automatic weapon, nor deer, or muskrats.
The answer, dear friends is Wayne LaPierre, the president of the National Rifle Association (NRA). He is a staunch supporter of unchecked sales of automatic weapons. Here's what he said after the Sandy Hook shooting which killed 20 innocent school children and six teachers: "Absolutes do exist," NRA President Wayne LaPierre said after the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "We are as ‘absolutist’ as the Founding Fathers and framers of the Constitution. (Regarding the 2nd Amendment). And we’re proud of it!" I wonder if Wayne is proud of what his stance on automatic weapons caused last night. (Would he still be proud if one of his children was killed in the massacre last night?)
Modern Math for stupid, greedy, low information U. S. Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen, who are "paid off" by the NRA:
*** We will always have deranged, crazy, mad people roaming our streets. With a population of 325 million people, there could be about 1/10 of a percent of people like killer Stephen Paddock. That computes to 325 thousand people, or 6,500 for every state in the Union. So rounding off the numbers, you can easily have one or two thousand assault rifle madmen roaming our streets in every state, and many thousands stretching across our nation.
*** Remember that when the 2nd amendment was written, long guns were called muskets and pistols called flint locks." A shooter could get off about three rounds in a minute. Quite different from the 138 rounds a minute that an assault rifle can deliver today, and that includes reloading.
*** Do we have ANY strategy for identifying and controlling mass shootings by mad people? The answer is an emphatic NO. NADA. And the NRA is fighting, tooth and nail to prevent ANY regulation of this crazy madness.
The irony, of course, is that the 2nd amendment does not anticipate the disruptive and dangerous effects of automatic weapons in the hands of citizens, crazy or not. Here's the 2nd Amendment language: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
First, the amendment really only guarantees the arming of a Militia to guarantee the security of a free State.
Secondly, the security of a free State IS THREATENED by automatic weapons. Times have changed, guns have changed. The RIGHTS of our citizens to enjoy a simple music concert have been compromised. To cite the Declaration of Independence, the Grand Daddy of all of our "Rights" statements, which came way before the 2nd Amendment said: ". . . they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness."
Well those most basic rights have been compromised by the NRA's ridiculous stand on automatic weapons. It means that any large gathering in the U.S. is threatened, and that truly threatens the preservation of life & liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is chilling to think about how many copycat killers are studying last night's massacre.
It goes without saying that we are truly, truly sorry for the loss of so many families in the Las Vegas shooting. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. But that loss and pain should not prevent thinking people from getting our country to adopt sane and safe regulations about the mass killing potential of automatic weapons. We have to prevent the next mass shooting. Will it result in 100 dead? 200 dead? 300 dead?
The answer is up to us.
The worst news came on my way home from my opthalmologist. Republicans are trying to push through Congress NRA-sponsored legislation that would make it easier to buy gun silencers. Several policemen interviewed this afternoon said the only purpose of a silencer is to hide the location of the shooter. That's good for our servicemen and women, but very bad for us if we are being attacked by deranged killers like Stephen Paddock. One of the main reasons that many more concert goers weren't killed or wounded was because police were quickly able to track him down by triangulating the gunshot sounds to the 32nd floor where he was hiding.
Wayne LaPierre's stance on gun control has resulted in the tragic deaths of many more Americans than any ISIS-inspired plots. Way to go, Wayne. What's your score of murdered Americans at this point?
Dan and Mary Udell
