There is a Clear Connection Between Terrorism and Gun

It should bother all of us that a man whom the FBI had investigated as a possible terrorist went into an Orlando nightclub and, claiming ties to the Islamic State, shot 49 people to death with weapons he bought legally. That’s right – weapons he bought legally – a terrorist suspect.
Think about all the recent acts of terrorism – from shooting up movie theaters and elementary schools to the Boston Marathon – assault weapons were involved. I continue to be dumbfounded at how the National Rifle Association (NRA) continues to win the battle over gun control.
Disclaimer time: I agree and support the fact that every American citizen has a constitutional right to bear arms. But bearing arms doesn’t mean that everyday citizens should have access to the assault rifles that our military men and women use.

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives citizens the right to bear arms. It was ratified in December 1791, and the amendment says, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

But there is a fine line between infringing on a “citizen’s right to bear arms” and attempting to fight the battle against gun violence. There will be Americans that say the government should stay out of our lives and let people own as many guns as they want – regardless of their background and mental aptitude.

I call that the “Wild West/NRA” mentality. While I subscribe that clearly the Constitution grants the right to bear arms, we still must bear arms responsibly.

There has been too many deaths, too many mass murders,and far too much politics surrounding the issue of gun control. And while we are debating and the NRA is lobbying for gun freedom, too many innocent people are dying.

Clearly, there are mentally unstable people getting their hands on high capacity guns and loads of ammunition.There is no debate about that fact, but is there a middle ground at all when it comes to gun control?

The NRA and Republicans are basically protecting a terrorist’s right to bear arms by not supporting stronger gun control efforts.
While Congress debates the need for background checks,places like Orlando, Florida, and Boston are dealing with the lingering affects of domestic terrorism and the use of the same high capacity weapons that many Americans are in support of banning.

Gun violence costs 30,000 lives in this country each year according to national law enforcement data. When legislation or initiatives are introduced in Washington to limit gun sales, the other side goes crazy. Even some of the steps proposed after the Newtown mass murders — such as reimposition of a ban on military-style assault weapons and large-capacity magazines — were deemed too much for the pro-gun lobby to accept.

Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “There’s nothing more uncommon than common sense. Obviously, not enough Americans have common sense when it comes to gun control.

Even if you are an avid outdoorsman – do you really need an assault rifle and large capacity magazine to go hunting?
I have never hunted so I am really not a subject matter expert. However, seems like it would be more sport to use a traditional rifle versus shooting Bambie like 30 times with a machine gun. I am just saying.

And how and why are so many pro-gun people opposed to background checks? Most of us realize that these checks will not stop every senseless act of gun violence, but it will help. Heck, it certainly will not hurt.

During recent gun debates on Capital Hill, the NRA changed its position on background checks to ‘never’ and dug in its heels, threatening to punish senators who voted in favor. And so, despite polls showing that up to 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks, Senate Republicans could not muster the 60 votes needed to move the legislation forward.

Talk about insanity – the notion that background checks are bad is ridiculous.

No need to beat a dead horse, or in this case, shoot a dead horse. However, it is clear that there is a relationship between the unfortunate terrorist actions of the last week in Orlando and over the past years and the desperate need for more gun control.
Signing off from Tallahassee,

Reggie Fullwood

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