Gun Rights Advocates Shout at Newtown Victim's Father

J

Jessica Hill/AP

Once again, Ham on Wry posts on gun control because the nuttiness continues.  Barbara Mattson, a firearm training units detective with the Connecticut State Police displays a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle like the one Adam Lanza used in his massacre of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary.  Parents of children killed in that tragedy testified at a legislative hearing Monday, calling for improved enforcement of existing gun laws and stricter penalties for violators.

Jessica Hill/AP

Neil Heslin, who lost his son Jesse in the shooting, showed his emotion when he told the audience how difficult it was for him to see Jesse lying in a casket.  He then asked why any civilian would need to own an assault-style weapon, at which point a handful of gun advocates heckled him shouting about their Second Amendment rights.  Clearly, these people have no regard for civil discourse or respect for those who have lost loved ones when such weapons were used, and I suspect all belong to the NRA.

Wake up, crazed gun advocates!  No one is asking you to give up your constitutional rights to own a gun.   Reasonable, clear-thinking people want a common sense approach to gun ownership, and that doesn't describe the current situation.  Statistics show that our nation has the highest rate of gun deaths in any of the world's developed countries.  Adam Lanza could not have killed so many children and adults so horribly and quickly, if his mother hadn't had a stash of guns, including the Bushmaster AR-15.  Assault weapons belong in the hands of the military and law enforcement agencies, not citizens.  No one yet has provided a sound reason for anyone who uses guns for legal purposes to own assault rifles, bulletproof vests, or multi-round ammunition clips designed for maximum damage.  That includes NRA spokesperson Wayne LaPierre, who claims that assault weapons have use in sports.  What sport is that, Mr. LaPierre--kill those who disagree with you?

Gun proponents need to read the Second Amendment and remember the framers' purpose in writing it.  At that time in American history, no standing army existed, so they wanted to give citizens the right to protect themselves in times of war.  The men who drafted the United States Constitution and the amendments that followed had roots in countries ruled by monarchies and despots who could take anything they wanted at will.  They could not possibly have envisioned a time when weapons would exist to massacre large numbers of people, and they certainly wouldn't have thought about the kinds of slayings that occur with modern weapons.

In case some gun advocates still believe that the Second Amendment gives them the right to any and all weapons, I say get a grip!  That kind of thinking provides the very foundation for the Adam Lanza's of the world to wreak havoc on innocent victims.  Your right to gun ownership doesn't trump the inalienable right of American citizens to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  You take away that right when you promote ownership of weapons designed purely to kill large numbers of people.  For once, approach this issue with reason and compromise.