I mentioned this a bit in an earlier post, but that was more a case of the typical “Blame The Gun” duckspeak, often coming from people who are they themselves protected by either carrying a gun themselves or having armed security protecting them. But, now the gun banners are starting to chime in at full throat, starting with the always unhinged Salon, as written by Heather Digby Parton
Nobody needs an AR-15: The Orlando massacre teaches us (again) that we must ban semi-automatic human killing machines
Do it now: Congress must ban military-style weapons and make it harder for terrorists to act on their hate
The headline and subhead say it all. Of course, they are already banned. Private ownership of any automatic weapon is, for all intense purposes, banned. The article also mentions this
It’s time for Congress to finally act on gun violence & ban military-style weapons, limit clip size & require background checks on all sales
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) June 12, 2016
Background checks are required for most sales. What Casey is implying is that all scary looking weapons be banned. Even though the previous assault weapons ban did not work. And I love when people chime in who are too incompetent to use the correct terminology.
And then there was Bernie Sanders, calling for a ban on automatic weapons. Glad a major presidential candidate has such great knowledge.
Hillary wants to reinstate the “assault weapons ban”. Funny how Democrats didn’t do this when they had full control of the House, Senate, and White House in 2009, with the GOP unable to stop them at all.
The Hartford Courant is likewise calling for a ban on assault weapons
But we must set aside, for this moment, the temptation to focus on the abhorrent zeal that apparently drove Omar Mateen to murder on Sunday. This conversation could just as easily be about the delusions of Adam Lanza, who killed 20 children and six women at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
Illness, prejudice and ignorance will always be with us. But the guns don’t have to be.
This is where it gets odious. The blame is place on the guns, rather than the idiology of those using them for mass murder.
There is no excuse for allowing madmen access to assault weapons. Military-spec weapons have no business being in the hands of anybody other than the military. The Second Amendment doesn’t guarantee the right to the technology of mass murder.
Last time I checked, murder was illegal, but people still do it. Furthermore, if you’re saying civilians should not have access to military spec weapons (they generally don’t), then this would restrict citizens from having certain knives and handguns. It would restrict citizens to pretty much a .22 caliber, as the military makes big use of 9mm weapons. It would mean hunters would not be allowed to have rifles that could actually take game down. The military uses shotguns, so they would be banned.
Oh, and the Second Amendment does say that the right “shall not be infringed”.
The Boston Globe picks up the insanity even more
Prayers aren’t enough. The US needs fewer guns.
…
It makes no more sense to blame Islam for the Orlando shooting than it would to blame mental illness for the Sandy Hook massacre. The common thread and decisive factor in those and so many other mass shootings was the availability of powerful semiautomatic weapons that serve no purpose but to kill. It’s not likely the nation will ever be free of malcontents, whether they’re homophobic religious zealots or unstable nuts. But it could be free from the guns that enable them to do so much harm, so easily.
See? It’s the gun, not the disciple of a segment of extremist Islam. So, ban the gun!
Tell you what: let’s ban all guns. And I mean all guns. No waivers for certain people. Not for politicians, including the president and his protection. Not for celebrities and sports figures. No excuses allowed. What you’ll be left with are bad people who get them. Banning alcohol worked well, right? No one in the United States drank, right?
And, we have to ask, who does this hurt the most? Women, who like the lightweight weapons, handguns and “assault weapons”, for protection. They are a great equalizer. Liberals would prefer they have rape whistles, though.
Expect more ban calls from liberals.
