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Sunday, June 12, 2016

Where Was The Good Guy?

I woke up this morning to the news of yet another mass shooting in the U.S., in Orlando, Florida.  50 people this time.  And the death toll will increase because another 53 were injured.  And, as usual, the product that produced this carnage - performing exactly as it was meant to - was an AR-15.  

There was a time when the Congress recognized that this was not a hunting rifle meant to go out and hunt Bambi, and they sensibly banned it.  The following quote is from a Wikipedia article on the Assault Weapon Ban of 1994.  (The reviewing court held that it was "entirely rational for Congress ... to choose to ban those weapons commonly used for criminal purposes and to exempt those weapons commonly used for recreational purposes."[18]:10[22] It also found that each characteristic served to make the weapon "potentially more dangerous," and were not "commonly used on weapons designed solely for hunting."[18]:10–11[23])  Any product designed to kill as many humans as possible in as short a period of time as possible is meant for warfare, not hunting, and not for personal protection.  Unless you really believe the zombies are coming.

Now the NRA says the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.  In the nightclub last night, I guess there were no good guys with guns.  Most normal people don't want to walk around carrying a weapon that could more likely cause harm to themselves or a member of their family than protect them from some madman.  I cannot envision myself killing someone else.  Can you?  Honestly, can you?  

Where are the good guys with laws?