In all the recent mass massacres including gunning down of 20 children & 6 adults in Newtown, the choice of weapon has been AR-15 Type rapid fire weapon. These weapons of mass destructions can fire 4-6 bullets per Second and around 100 in One Minute. President Clinton put a Ban on assault weapons & President Bush, the domestic pet of war industry, lifted it in 2004. Since then 5 mass murder incidents have happened; First, in March 2005 when 6 students and 2 school officials were shot dead at Red Lake High School in Minnesota and before that the 16yrs old gunman Jeff Weise shot dead his grand father and his girl friend. Second, in April, 2007 at Virginia Tech which left 32 dead and 17 wounded, making it the deadliest shooting incident by a single gunman in U.S. history.
Third, in January, 2011. Congresswoman Gabby Giffards was critically injured by a gunshot wound in the head; thirteen people were injured and six others were killed in the shooting, among them federal judge John Roll by a lone gunman Jared Laughner. Fourth, Aurora Theater shooting in July 2012 in which 12 died and 58 were injured (11 critically). Fifth, on August 5, 2012 at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin which left 6 dead in what was the first ever gun massacre in any Sikh Temple in US history. The sixth and the latest on December 7, 2012 in Newtown which left 20 kids in ages 6-7 and 6 adults dead due to the use of weapons of mass destruction.
When are we going to wake up? How many more incidents of massacre by guns do we want to see? The British banned assault weapons right after the deadly shooting of 16 kindergarten-age children and their teachers in March 1996 by Thomas Hamilton. Australians banned assault weapons in 1996 within 12 days of the shooting spree in the southern state of Tasmania that killed 35 people. In all the 6 mass murders in America the killers used a similar AR-15 type rapid firing weapon. We have done nothing since 2005. We can learn from 1958 Gun Law of Japan. The only guns that Japanese citizens can legally buy and use are shotguns and air rifles, and it’s not easy to do that.
Even Israel where citizens are prone to Terrorist attacks it is very difficult to get a gun. After 60 days’ training and mental health evaluation, one gets 50 bullets as life time supply. What is wrong with us the Americans that even after 5 mass killings, we are still having a debate whether to ban the weapons of mass destructions or not? Those who are hiding behind the 2ND Amendment should be ashamed of themselves. It is not only not being Americans; it is being unpatritic to support weapons of mass destruction. We must look at the death rate by Guns in UK that is 35 per year to our almost 12,000 gun related deaths per year. This has nothing to do with the 2ND Amendment or guns for sports. Even the 2ND Amendment is being misinterpreted. The word “State Militia” means “State Police” not the Lanza or Page or Holmes or Cho or Wiese.
The Gun Lobby is free to keep their Air Rifles & Shot Guns minus the big magazines. We have became a Banana Republic with 300 milion weapons for 311 million Americans. This is despite the fact that United States has more Police Officers than anywhere else in the world. More than 30% US households have multiple guns including AR-15 type weapons of mass destruction. There are amost 140,000 GUN DEALERS as compared to 14,000 McDonalds & 56,000 Grocery stores in entire America. We must understand that the lives of our children and citizens are more precious and sacred than Guns. We must ban all kinds of weapons of mass destructions and big magazines NOW before another massacre takes place.