Designed to Kill Large Numbers of People Quickly?!

This NRA-ILA article speaks to the rabid and incredible misunderstanding (and fear) possessed by the left of firearms. It also speaks to their complete lack of knowledge about firearms and their refusal to understand firearms usage facts, which leads to their inability make sound decisions when it comes to the legislation of firearms.

In the article, the lawmakers of Wisconsin say they want to ban so-called "assault weapons" and most other types of firearms because they deemed them dangerous because they are “designed to kill large numbers of people quickly.”

 In fact, it appears they are taking a shotgun approach (pun intended) to just ban any and all firearms they can think of. I am not sure they even know enough about firearms to know what kinds of guns can perform what actions, to be honest.

Hmmm.... well what d'ya know? I looked through all of the owner's manuals for all of my firearms, and in NOT ONE of these documents does it say that the firearm was designed for the explicit purpose of killing large numbers of people quickly.

A firearm has one, and only ONE purpose: To allow an operator to pull a trigger that actuates a firing pin that activates an ammunition cartridge and sends a projectile out of the barrel towards an intended target. THAT'S IT! That intended target may be a piece of paper, game being hunted, a home invader, or an invading enemy.

Killing large numbers of people is the intent of the heart of the operator of the firearm. The state of the heart may be that of a deranged and criminal mind who wants to kill as many innocent people as possible. Or the state of the heart may be a law abiding and decent citizen who wants nothing more than to protect loved ones and other innocents from a home invader or active shooter. Perhaps it's the heart of a hunter who wants to put food on the table. Or even just the heart of a sportsman who is competing in a shooting match.

The firearm itself does not have the ability to make these decisions, nor was it designed explicitly for any of these purposes.

Now I will tell you also what the 2nd Amendment was designed to do: It was designed to protect the individual RIGHT to own firearms for the purpose of protecting them from tyrannical governments and invading armies. And if it ever came to this, a firearm of the same type and action of those possessed by the invading entities was the idea of the framers when they wrote this amendment. In other words - possessing military style weapons was the intent of the framers, and is the RIGHT of individuals.

I'm not sure we're dealing with people of stellar intellect in these attempts to ban guns based solely on their perception (not knowledge) of the firearm's appearance, use, or purpose. The only thing I see in play here are people who act based on "feelings" (not knowledge) and the need to show others that they "are doing something."

Four Sheets of Parchment

The United States Constitution was written on just four sheets of parchment.  Compare that to a single bill today submitted by Congress that exceeds 2,000 pages.  And I’ll bet the Founders read every single word on every single page of that most precious of founding documents.  Not only that, but they understood exactly what they wrote!  Today, we can’t even get our legislators to be willing to make these huge bills available for us to try to read, much less read them themselves. 

Gary DeMar summed it up pretty well in an American Vision article

“The Constitution of the United States was written on four sheets of parchment. If you count the Preamble and all 27 Amendments (remember there were originally only ten), it comes out to 20 typed pages. If you don’t count the signatures and amendments, you’ll have a document of 11 typed pages. No single Amendment is a full page. Many are only a single sentence in length. The First Amendment covers a multitude of freedoms: religion, press, assembly, speech, and the right to petition the government. It does it with only 45 words. Those original four sheets, about 4500 words, were good enough to serve as a document to govern a nation.”

They give the excuse that the bills are too confusing for them to read.  They wrote them, didn’t they?!  And now they don’t want to read their own writing because it’s too confusing?  If that’s the case, then maybe they should take a lesson from the Founding Fathers and learn how to write things that are shorter and easier to read.  If they didn’t write these bills, then who did!?  Our Second Amendment which preserves our right to defend ourselves is only twenty-six words yet speaks volumes.  Come on – how hard is it to write something as simple, yet as explicit as that?

So what does this mean to us as gun owners?  Take one of the latest in gargantuan bills, the recent Affordable Health Care for America Act passed by Congress, and somehow allowed to stand by the Supreme Court.  In this monstrosity of a bill any number of amendments could spell gun control under the guise of “looking out for our health” and ensuring that we live in “safe environments” in our own homes.  Some say there is the possibility of further registration of every single entry of our medical records into national databases.  It takes only a little common sense for one to realize that buried in a bill that is over 2,000 pages long can be hidden any number of liberty killing amendments.  How about the prospect of turning you into a felon if you don’t buy the healthcare prescribed for you by law?  You do remember that felons can’t own guns, right?  At the very least, this represents further control of the American people by a government that is growing out of control.  

Here is what Gun Owners of America has to say about this bill:

“This bill will...most likely result in all of your gun-related health data being dumped into a government database that was created in the stimulus bill. This includes any firearms-related information your doctor has gleaned... or any determination of PTSD, or something similar, that can preclude you from owning firearms."

The bill will also create special "wellness" programs in section 112 which would allow the government to offer lower premiums to employers who bribe their employees to live healthier lifestyles -- and nothing within the bill would prohibit rabidly anti-gun HHS Secretary Sebelius from decreeing that "no guns" is somehow healthier.”

Hurt yourself reloading?  Need special glasses for shooting?  Have an accident at the range?  My suggestion is to find another explanation for those things to your doctor.  The health care bill above is but one example. There have been several pieces of legislation considered in the past few years alone that have been so huge as to be unreadable and un-comprehended by the average citizen.  Next thing you know, it will be determined that firing a gun produces too much carbon dioxide, and you will face more taxes when buying guns and ammunition if cap and trade is ever passed.

Now, more than ever, it is crucial that gun owners (and all citizens) get involved and educate themselves on every single bill that our law makers try to push through.  ANY bill can have the potential of containing anti-gun content and or amendments.  We must be paying attention every step of the way if we are to have a say in how these laws are passed. 

I know – this represents time out from lives, families and friends.  But our future as a country depends on our willingness to sacrifice a little in order to help secure our future as a nation.  With the voluminous amounts of text in these bills, and the hundreds of amendments being slipped in, an innocent looking and sounding bill can turn into a gun owner’s (or everyone’s for that matter) worst nightmare in a single moment.  We must take an active role in our own governance and make sure our elected officials hear our needs and demands.  In this very important election year - Please – get off the bench and get into the game.