10/06/2015
You know, we seem to go through the some sort of political volley each and every time there is a tragedy in this country. The loss of 9 lives in yet another school shooting brings out the same political rhetoric we have heard so many times before. And each person taking the soapbox, has a plethora of statistics and studies that will back up their presentation. And this is fine with me. I will listen and nod politely to both sides. All the while, keeping my own thoughts and opinions to myself and voicing my thoughts with my votes at election time.
But what makes me really mad are the lies that are told. And it makes me sad that so many people takes this information as fact and just continually repeat it as if it is the gospel truth. And the lies come from BOTH sides of the political aisle. I listen to both sides, and with very little research, it is EASY to see that much of what they are telling you is at best a half truth and in the worst case, a bald face lie. So many lies. And so easily debunked. For instance, let’s discuss just a few things from Senator Clinton’s speech last night.
She said: “People should not be walking the street with fully automatic weapons.” “We need to stop the sale of military style assault weapons.” “Hunters do not need the same style weapon that is used by our soldiers” - And you know what, most every gun owner I know including me, would agree with her on all three of these points! Even the NRA and the staunchest conservative would agree with Senator Clinton on these facts. The problem is, what she is saying has ALREADY happened.
First, people are NOT “walking the streets with automatic weapons” A government ban was put in place on automatic weapons THIRTY YEARS AGO!! Now, if you want to own a 30 year old or older automatic weapon and “walk the streets with it”, you still can. Let me tell you what it takes to do that. Here are the steps.
1. Contact the Sheriff in the county were you reside. Ask the Sheriff to complete a BATF Form-4 to state that he agrees with your need to purchase and own a fully automatic weapon. (good luck with that)
2. Find a Class III fi****ms dealer that will be willing to complete the transaction for you, submit to a background check, criminal history check and be fingerprinted.
3. Find a weapon manufactured BEFORE the 1986 ban. They are available but I have NEVER seen one in a condition that I felt safe enough that would consider shooting for less than $15,000.00 dollars. They are quite rare and thus incredibly expensive.
4. Confirm with local law enforcement that you can be in possession of the gun without a Class III license. If you cannot, and in many states, that is the case, you can technically OWN the gun, but it must stay in the possession of the dealer that did the transfer for you.
5. And, if you CAN take possession of the gun, then put it in the safe and hold onto it. For as tough as it is go get, it is even tougher to find a place to shoot these weapons. Firing a fully automatic weapon is banned in most every county in the US.
So – with that being said, I would hardly think that people walking the street with automatic weapons are a concern. The implication that the guns people are carrying are the same fully automatic rifles carried by our military is simply to stir fear amongst those who will not do their own research.
But it gets worse!! While it may not “TECHNICALLY” be a lie, it is so misleading that had I told a story like this as a young man, my Mama would have whooped my butt for lying and when I explained to her that it was technically the truth, she would have whooped me again for thinking she was stupid. Here is the story – And that is the “buying guns from the Internet without a permit.” Sure!! You can do that. There are literally HUNDREDS of places to purchase a gun on the Internet. Most any type of gun you want. Pistol, shotgun, rifle…..even those $15,000.00 Military style assault rifles referenced above. They are all available for purchase from hundreds of gun stores on the Internet. And she is right about the ease of doing so. All you need is a credit card. It doesn’t matter if you are a three time convicted felon. It doesn’t matter if you have a full history of mental illness. It doesn’t matter if you have a 30 year record of domestic abuse. If you have a credit card, you can by a gun on the Internet. It really is that easy. Now – the part you did NOT hear from Senator Clinton…. that is how you get the gun delivered. You bought it without the background check, you sure did. Technically, you own the weapon. Now, the seller will contact you and ask you to choose from a list of Federally Licensed Firearm dealers in your area. The gun will be shipped, in your name, to the dealer you choose. And there, before you take possession of the weapon, is where you will fill out the federal forms, have your background check completed, and go through your waiting period and fingerprinting, if your state requires it, before you take possession of the weapon you own. So technically, you did “buy” it without a background check. You just could not actually have it in your hands without a background check. But no matter the facts – it better serves the agenda if we just say “You can buy a gun on the Internet without a background check.”
So, one thing that both parties will tell you is that “something must be done.” And I think every American would agree. As to what that “something” is, will be a different story. Personally, I think that as a time when we have lunatics asking innocent citizens if they are Christian, and if that answer is yes, then shooting them in the head – well, this is not the best time to make it harder for these citizens to being a position to defend themselves against and armed crazy man. I don’t know the answers and it will likely be some variation of ideas from both sides of the aisle. One thing I would like to see is a gun safety course taught at the elementary school level. Too many children seem to get their hands on fi****ms and with the only information they have had about weapons is from cartoons, the result is often tragic. I don’t particularly have enough faith in our Government, for a registration program (The hurricane Katrina “gun grab” is a prime example of how far the Government will go with that) but a mandatory gun safety and handling course for a first time gun buyer could be a start.
All in all, we can agree there are too many deaths of innocent people. No matter that it happens by crazy men with box cutters hijacking planes, crazy men with fi****ms shooting people, crazy men with machetes beheading folks or crazy men with a truckload of fertilizer and chemicals bringing down buildings. There are too many deaths of innocent people. So how about we do this - Let’s have a discussion with some HONESTY. Not skewed charts and graphs. Not lopsided surveys and research. Not one sided facts. Not half-truths and ridicules statements to insight fear. Whether that statement is “The Government wants to take the guns away from everybody or “Everybody can buy an automatic weapon.” Let’s stop the lies. Let’s discuss the problem with real facts and real honesty. Maybe then we can get to a real solution.
