The Sad Truth

--> ©2016 by LeeZard
 

I have so many feelings and emotions, anger, sadness, despair, frustration, hopeless and helpless. Did I mention anger? I don’t know what to do. What can I do? What can we do? It may be too late to do much of anything; the genie is out of the gun safe.

 I’m talking, of course, about the horror in Orland, FL, its aftermath and the ensuing predictable debate over gun control mixed with the platitudes of, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and victims.” I want to vomit.

Sorry, folks, even if you do believe in some great deity, thoughts and prayers don’t mean squat. Let’s face it; the sad truth is that even if weapons such as the AR-15 are banned nationally, nothing will change, at least not in the foreseeable future.

I’m sure you’re thinking, “How can you say such a thing, LeeZard? We absolutely must ban assault weapons!”

First of all, the AR-15 is technically NOT an assault weapon. According to the Christian Science Monitor, “The AR-15 is a semiautomatic civilian version of an M-16 military machine gun (introduced during the Vietnam War). It is not a true assault weapon, since it can't fire continuously. It's extremely accurate at 200 yards and easy to modify, and thus has many uses, ranging from coyote hunting to hobby shooting at ranges. Its short barrel and modified stock make it easy to maneuver in tight places, making it a popular home defense weapon as well.”

Really? You need a friggin’ machine gun for home defense?

So, let’s get back to our mythical assault weapon ban. In theory, it sounds great but reality bites. First and foremost, we cannot forget the Gun Lobby. They have so many lawmakers in their hunting vest pockets that any ban will be a long time coming, if ever. But let’s say for a moment that a ban nationwide is enacted. Will it end the mass killings and domestic terrorism? I don’t think so.

While it’s hard to pin down exact numbers of specific weapons out there, many sources call the AR-15 the most popular gun in America. Slate magazine’s Justin Peters estimates there are 3.75 MILLION AR-15-style weapons in the hands of Americans. So, besides your average commando wannabe, just about every self-styled militia and terrorist cell have all the AR-15s they need.

But, you might argue, at least it’s a beginning and, eventually those weapons will disappear. Really? How long do you think it will be before attrition takes almost 4-MILLION weapons?

No, I don’t see any type of ban slowing the flow of blood across America and that is the sad truth.