As I watched “Meet The Press” this morning, Dianne Feinstein (D from California) announced that she will be introducing (with other House co-authors) a new Assault Weapons Ban. She mentioned “magazines, drums, clips and strips” with a capacity of more than 10 rounds, and said “”It will ban the sale, the transfer, the importation and the possession, not retroactively, but prospectively” of assault weapons” and magazines.
Dick Durbin (D from IL) also called for one on “Fox News Sunday”.
One of the common threads they mentioned was “no one needs these things”.
Let’s put aside the whole fact that the Bill of Rights was intended to be inviolate. Let’s put aside the fact that the 2nd Amendment – a part of that document – contains the enhanced protection of stating that it “shall not be infringed”. Let’s put aside the notes in the Federalist Papers and other documents (written as commentaries at the time) that the 2nd Amendment is intended to cover arms in use by military forces, and let’s put aside the fact that the rifles used in these shootings are NOT fully-automatic assault rifles”.
Let’s also put aside the fact that Connecticut already has an ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN, and that – reportedly – the firearms used were in full compliance with that ban.
No, let’s not. If an AWB didn’t prevent this latest incident, WHY IN THE HELL WOULD A FEDERAL ONE DO ANY MORE?
First, the ban being suggested by the Senator from CA would prevent you from passing any covered items on to your children. When you die, Mr. and Mrs. America, turn them all in. They won’t inherit your firearms, someone in the government will, or they will destroy them.
They justify this by saying “no one NEEDS these things”.
Well, let’s look at what other people need, and weight them on the basis of safety…
Cigarettes. They cause cancer and increase health care costs. No one NEEDS cigarettes. Banned.
Alcohol. It causes DUI’s, right? It’s addictive. No one NEEDS alcohol. Banned.
ATV’s. No one NEEDS to be able to drive off-road, and failing to use them responsibly could hurt the environment. Banned.
Central Air Conditioning in homes. No one NEEDS central air. You can use a window unit in the room you are in and cool just that. It takes less energy. Banned.
Televisions larger than 32″. Larger units take more energy and required more natural resources to produce. Banned.
Hardcopy books. Everyone has computers, you can read what you need to online. We can’t afford to lose any trees, and were are not banning your ability to read, we are just banning the wasteful hardcopy book. Banned.
Any car larger than a smart car. Big cars will kill anyone riding in a smart car. Smart cars are fuel efficient. No one NEEDS anything larger than a smart car. Banned.
Wait, you say that your kids won’t all fit in a smart car?
mmmm
You don’t NEED all of those kids. Limits on kids.
In the real world, you take a chance every time you get on the road. You trust that the other drivers on the road will drive responsibility. You have the FREEDOM to drive a smart car or an F350. Of course, you know that if an F350 plows into you, you will die. It’s a risk you take.
You walk on the sidewalk and through crosswalks. You take chances, FREEDOMS, every minute of every day.
The want to call this proposed AWB a “common sense” measure. Well, you can use the vague idea of “common sense” to justify anything, even the things I posted above.
Living in a free society, we accept that there are risks. We know that sometimes, bad things will happen in a free society. You have the freedom to prepare for those, and do what you can to mitigate them and the damage they could do.
Don’t be so eager to take away freedoms that others exercise, even if you don’t elect to exercise them. You never know when your favorite freedoms will be targeted.
In a future entry I’ll note WHY those “high-capacity” magazines are a good thing, and should not be limited.
James Bell Jr – iCarryUtah.com