If You Make Assault Weapons Legal, Only the Bad Guys Will Use Them

   Open minds must be open. I sit here, pausing, realizing I am willing to consider something I could get in trouble just for considering.
   Banning assault weapons.
   I think on the news of the day. I think of the report Omar Manteen sought to buy body armor, but was turned away by a suspicious store clerk. Did he wear body armor during his attack? I do not know. It is said that if you ban guns, only bad guys will have guns. But, I wonder if it is hard enough to get body armor, if then the killer will be more inclined to go without.
   Yes, I think on the news of the day. I think of the family of the inventor of the AR-15 saying he would have been horrified to know the weapon has been used in mass killings. He intended the weapon for military efforts.
  I pause, again, as I write this, realizing how my friends and others will villainize me for even considering this, realizing they will consider me anti-patriotic.
   Banning assault weapons has always been a moot point, to me. My stand has always been -- and still is -- that there should be no restrictions on weapons. The Constitution doesn't allow it, and therefore certainly it does not allow banning assault weapons. I've not needed to venture into considering the banning of assault weapons, since the Constitution doesn't allow it.
   But, if we were to be wise, like the founding fathers, would we amend our Constitution to allow banning of assault weapons? Would this be wise?
   I see, clearly, that this would have an impact. If it were illegal to own, illegal to sell, illegal to have assault weapons, there would be far fewer killers using them. They might turn to other weapons, including bombs, but this one would be crossed off their list.
   Yes, I think when we see something is wise, we should do it. We are foolish to let gun rampage after gun rampage, mass killing after mass killing, continue if we can do something that is certain to have an impact.
   I think, again, of the old assertion that if we ban guns, only bad people will have them. I wonder. It seems that if we allow assault weapons, only bad people will use them. That is the real reality. There might be a few exceptions, there might be a few times when assault weapons have been used to stop a mass murder or to stop a crime, but they are few. Contrast that to how many times the assault weapons are used in mass killings.
   Far and away, when the assault weapon is used, it is the bad guy using it.
   Are we being wise? I think of the founding fathers, I think of how George Washington and Thomas Jefferson indicated we should consider changes that need to be made, and be wise enough to make those changes.
  If we can see that this is wise, it is not being unpatriotic to consider it. It is being patriotic. I think on how I have been taught to stand up for that which is right, even when it is unpopular. I know, that off top, you will not think this right. I would ask you to at least consider it. Yes, I will challenge you to consider whether you are being open minded. Whether we decide to do this or not, we must at least consider it. Being open minded demands that we at least give it consideration.