By Rob Morse: Training
USA –-(Ammoland.com)- A mass murderer killed almost 60 people in Las Vegas. Hundreds more were injured by gunshot wounds and by being trampled in the mass panic that followed. Politicians, celebrities and gun control activists called for new gun laws. Gun control laws aren’t a new idea. We already have 23 thousand firearms regulations.
We can keep the gun-control laws that work and get rid of the rest. Let’s examine the recent proposals.
We Demand Universal Background Checks
We have a long history of background checks. Many states already require them when firearms are bought or sold. The murderer in Las Vegas bought his guns legally at a gun shop so he passed his mandated federal background checks. So did the mass murderers who killed people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, at the Umpqua Community College in Oregon, and at Isla Vista near the University of Santa Barbara campus. I’m noticing a pattern here. Background checks only look at past criminal history. They can not predict the future behavior of mass murderers. They absolutely failed and we should not put our faith in them to stop the next murderer.
We Must Impose Magazine Capacity Restrictions
I mentioned him before, but the murderer at Isla Vista used a handgun, not a rifle. He bought his gun and magazines in California which already has magazine capacity restrictions. This murderer had several magazines. So did the murder who killed at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The attempted mass murderer who attacked a church in Tennessee last month also used a handgun. These murderers were able to kill at will because their victims were disarmed. Magazine Capacity Restrictions didn’t stop mass murders. Let’s get rid of this failed law.
Outlaw Semi-Automatic Weapons
The proponents of gun control said we should outlaw semi-automatic weapons. These weapons fire a single shot for each press of the trigger. We will ignore the physical and legal impossibility of collecting every one of the 200 million semi-automatic firearms in the United States. Let’s pretend for a moment that we could make all of the semi-automatic guns in the United States go away. Guns don’t stay gone. Criminals get them. Criminals have them now. It is illegal for criminals to have guns, but the night is filled with gunfire in Chicago. In Chicago, we disarmed the honest people while we left the criminals armed. Gun prohibition failed to disarm criminals, so let’s get rid of it.
Prohibit Private Citizens from Owning Firearms
Gun Control advocates say we should have gun laws like the ones in England and France. Mexico and Honduras also have gun prohibition, but the prohibitionists don’t bring up those examples. In Mexico and Honduras, the drug gangs have guns and the honest citizens are disarmed. Those countries have a frightening murder rate that is far higher than in the United States.
When we consider Europe, we see that gun prohibition again failed to lower crime or stop mass murder. London now has a higher crime rate than New York City. France outlawed semi-automatic rifles, yet terrorists murdered over a hundred people at the Bataclan Theater in Paris. These terrorists used illegal automatic rifles. It turns out that terrorists and drug gangs don’t obey the law. Only honest people do, so who are we disarming with more gun laws? These gun laws fail in the United States and around the world. Prohibition fails, so let’s get rid of it.
We need more gun-free zones
The Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was a gun free zone. Not even the security guards were armed. The Pulse Nightclub, the Umpqua Community College, Isla Vista, and the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church were also gun free zones. Murderers go to these so-called “gun-free zones” because they want disarmed victims. Since murderers like them, let’s get rid of legally mandated gun-free zones.
But gun-control might save one life
For every claim that gun control saves a life, I can point to many lives we’ve lost due to gun prohibition. For example, victims of domestic abuse could not buy a gun to protect themselves and their family. I can point to rape victims who were disarmed by gun laws at their campus. Disarming honest people doesn’t make us safer. I document that guns save lives every week.
I want to save many lives, and that is why I want these ineffective gun laws to go away. I trust my neighbors to do the right thing. I trust my neighbors every day as we drive to work and school. So do you. I trust my neighbors more than I fear criminals. I want my neighbors ready to save lives every day..and everywhere. That is why I want to get rid of these gun control laws that don’t work. It is simply common sense.
About Rob Morse
The original article is here. Rob Morse writes about gun rights at Ammoland, at Clash Daily and on his SlowFacts blog. He hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast. Rob is an NRA pistol instructor and combat handgun competitor