As usual, after mass shootings that keep killing innocent Americans, Trump makes false promises about gun reform then backs down like a sissy after one call from Wayne LaPierre of the NRA. Trump’s wimpy leadership style proves he is no ” strongman” but rather is a weak puppet with a loudmouth.
The Republican talking point, ” the Democrats want to take away your guns” is inaccurate and intentionally misleading for the political purpose of creating fear within Trump’s base about losing their 2nd Amendment rights. The argument Trump and the NRA often assert is that if one loses access to one weapon, they will eventually lose the right to have any weapons at all. The 2nd Amendment establishes the right to bear arms, so the odds that common-sense gun restrictions (aimed at protecting senseless killings) are going to take away Constitutionally protected rights is ridiculous.
Gun owners need to be convinced that restrictions on owning semi-automatic weapons of war would never invalidate their 2nd Amendment rights. A strategy to achieve this goal must become a priority for Democratic legislators who are seeking to get gun reform legislation passed in Congress.
If AK-47’s and AR-15’s were not banned, but rather restricted for shooting range use only, why should American gun owners be upset? Unless they had a plan to mass murder or to enlist in the armed services how would this restriction be detrimental to an average citizen’s life? It’s interesting how certain special interest groups passionately fight for the literal preservation of one Amendment and just as passionately fight to change or ignore other Amendments.
The intelligent truth is that the Constitution was written a long time ago and as the world as evolves, this brilliant document should be sensibly updated to reflect the reality of societal changes. For example, the First Amendment protects free speech, yet does not protect child pornography or speech that incites imminent lawless actions.
A 2008 Supreme Court ruling (District of Columbia v. Heller) ruled that the 2nd Amendment does not grant unlimited rights. It does not give one the right “to carry any weapon whatsoever, in any manner whatsoever, for any purpose whatsoever”. This qualifier leaves room for sensible gun reform to occur without infringing on 2nd Amendment rights.
It has been reported that there have been 19 mass shootings so far in 2019 with 116 lives lost in those incidences. None of those victims, their families or those injured in the attacks expected tragedy to befall them as they began what they believed would be a typical day. The truth is, any of us could be next. Enough is enough. Vote out legislators who are owned by the NRA and who are blindly loyal to Trump and his lack of compassion and disinterest in the gun violence issue. What good is money in your pocket if your life or a loved one’s life is taken away by gun violence.
