By Kevin Devlin
I believe in the Second Amendment and the right of every American to defend him or herself, but semiautomatic weapons, which should only be found in our police and military arsenals, must be outlawed to our citizenry.
To me the right to defend ourselves is a law of nature that should not, must not be denied to anyone by any government. The plain truth is our police can’t be everywhere in time to help those in need. A man who owns a store in the inner city, anywhere in America, has the right to defend himself and his business from possible armed-intruders intent on wrongdoing. That’s his right to do so, to defend his property, business, and his life. A woman who lives alone somewhere in rural America has the right to defend herself from would be assailants meant on inflicting harm upon her. That’s her right to do so, to defend her property and her life. Yet they don’t need semiautomatic weapons to do so.
Mass killings have evolved into an uninvited, new reality snickering at us. Unless we are directly affected by them we really can’t truly comprehend the heartbreak of those who have lost loved ones. Life goes on, we whisper to ourselves, helplessly surrounded by the status quo, as we await another tragedy to unfold. And we feel helplessly surrounded because we’re powerless against those who wield the power.
The national media will call for changes. Politicians will say they’re on board but will continue to bicker and cut deals behind closed doors. Compromise will remain an orphan and change elusive because money talks. The NRA and the gun industry, I guess one in the same, is a billion dollar industry lobbying tirelessly on a daily basis in our Capital.
The President and Congress need to come together, stop bickering, make a stand, and formulate a bold, nationwide strategy to end this epidemic of death. It’s time for change to make the future safer for everyone and ban semiautomatic weapons altogether in the public domain.
“Many people claim to oppose sensible gun-control reforms on the grounds they ‘are for the second amendment,’” wrote Cass R. Sunstein, a Bloomberg View columnist. “But everyone should be for the Second Amendment. The question is not whether to favor or oppose the Second Amendment, but which reforms, now acceptable under that amendment, should be enacted into law.”
If changes aren’t made, real changes that make a difference, more innocent Americans will suffer the consequences of inaction while others continue to profit from greed and indifference.
