Anti Gun proponents should take note on some of the recent terror attacks and mass murders. It doesn't take a gun to commit these horrific crimes. As the old saying goes, "where there is a will, there is a way!" The firearm is just a tool, not the cause. Taking away the tool does not solve the problem, another tool will be found! The so-called "assault rifle" and high capacity handgun magazines have been blamed for causing all the problems, so the anti gun lobby is adamant that removal of these "bad" things will solve all problems. Actually, the anti gun proponents would like to see all guns banned, outlawed in America. They are sure that banning or outlawing guns would stop violence, no more murders, etc. They always point to European countries and Japan as an example where strict gun laws supposedly keep crime rate low.
This hysteria directed against firearms actually started in modern times, with the assassination of Robert Kenney and Martin Luther King in 1968. The result of the anti gun uproar over these assassinations was the Gun Control Act of 1968. This act put many restrictions on gun purchases and gun importations. The irony of it all was that Bobby Kennedy was murdered with a .22 handgun, a revolver that did not have a high capacity magazine and a gun that was built not for killing anyone but for target shooting or "plinking" as informal target shooting is called. In short, it was a very common and perfectly legal handgun. Martin Luther King was killed with a normal hunting rifle, not an "assault rifle" or any other high capacity weapon! It was a very common rifle used for deer hunting! Earlier, in 1963, John F. Kennedy was killed with an inexpensive, surplus Italian military rifle (Carcano) purchased through mail order system. Therefore, the 1968 Gun Control Act made mail order purchase of firearms illegal. By the way, the Carcano is not an "assault rifle," it is a bolt action that is slow for repeat shots!
Now we come to some of the worst mass murders and terror attacks in modern times. The two worst terror acts in the history of the United States took place in 1995, 2001. In 1995, the Oklahoma City Bombing killed 168 and injured 680 people, mostly children. The bomb was made of fertilizer bags, no firearms were involved whatsoever! Everyone knows of the 9/11 and the horrific acts of the destruction of twin towers in New York and the crashing of aircrafts in Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. That was the worst terror attack in the history of the United States, more lives were lost in total than in the infamous Pearl Harbor attack by Japan that set off World War Two for America. But guess what? Not a single firearm was used in the 9/11 attack, no "assault rifles," no "high capacity" magazine handguns. Yet the first thing that happened after those two incidents was call for more gun control by the gun control proponents!
The month of July this year has been, thus far, a terrible month for France. There have been multiple terror attacks and many lives were lost. On Bastille Day, July 18, an ISIS sympathizer, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a large truck through a crowd for several blocks, killing 84 innocent Bastille Day celebrants and injuring twice as many. Although he was armed, he did all the killing with the truck, not with firearms! A couple of days ago, in Sagamihara, Japan, Satoshi Uematsu, former healthcare worker, killed 19 and injured 26 disabled patients at a care center. His weapon? A kitchen knife! But the month of July wasn't finished yet, just yesterday in Paris, another ISIL sympathizer slashed the throat of a priest and injured two other hostages before he and his cohorts where killed. Once again, the weapon was a knife, not a firearm!
If we are to follow the reasoning of anti gun advocates who preach that guns are "bad," then by their reasoning motor vehicles are "bad" and knives are "bad," therefore, both motor vehicles and knives should be banned and outlawed! Actually if you were to take a census you would find that more people in America are killed as a result of motor vehicle (cars, trucks, and motorcycles)accidents than by firearms! World-wide, more people are killed through out the world with knives than with any other weapon. So, using the anti gun advocates reasoning, perhaps we should ban all motor vehicles and knives. Don't know exactly how we will handle kitchen chores without knives, but we will have to manage and use bicycles and horses for transportation. Actually, not a bad idea! By the way, in rural Africa, more people are killed yearly by Hippos and Crocodiles than motor vehicles or firearms. Perhaps Hippos and Crocs should be outlawed and eradicated!
I hope you see what I am getting at, I am not trying to make light or fun of the subject of people losing lives. But what I am saying is that the issue of gun control in America has become so politicized that in many instances, arguments for or against make no sense what so ever. Emotions seem to carry the day and our politicians simply respond to what they feel will get them the most votes!
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