Breitbart
Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) is asking President Trump to enact an immediate “temporary ban” on AR-15 sales while Congress weighs whether to ban the rifles altogether.
Multiple Democrat Senators and Representatives are pushing an “assault weapons” ban and Rep. Mast used a February 25 Face the Nation appearance to push a specific ban on AR-15s as well.Mast said,
We’ve seen a lot of shootings out there. We’ve seen what’s happened in Parkland, we’ve seen what happened in Las Vegas, we saw what happened in Orlando. And for me personally, it pains to know that I went out there, willing to defend my country, willing to give everything, with almost the exact same weapon that’s used to go out there and, unfortunately, kill children here in Parkland. And I think there’s very real opportunity here for response and for action.It needs to be noted that an AR-15 is not “almost the exact same weapon” that Mast used. He used an M-16, which resembles an AR-15, but is fully automatic. M-16s have a selector switch on the left side of the rifle that allows military personnel to select their rate of fire–semi, full-auto, three round bursts–but an AR-15 is strictly semiautomatic. (Even an AR-15 with a bump stock only fires on round per each pull of the trigger.)
Nevertheless, Mast is pushing for a ban on AR-15s and, for now, is asking President Trump to put a “temporary ban” in place to give Congress time to act.
Masts suggests the temporary AR-15 ban be modeled after the terrorist travel ban. Of course, terrorists do not have a constitutional right to travel to our country but Americans posses a constitutional right to keep and bear arms that are in “common use” generation to generation.
A "temporary ban"? I'm calling bullshit on that one and Rep Mast is a liar. He, we, and everyone knows that any ban that is temporary tends to become permanent. He needs to be reminded that had all the various government, social, educational agencies had done their job, and intervened that POS might have gotten the help he needed and those 17 kids might be alive today. Also the 4 cops did nothing and failed to protect those kids. But I guess that dead kids do not matter and their grieving parents can take comfort that those cowardly cops when home safe at the end of their shift. But the hero's in blue will there fearlessly to protect the public from grade school children who chew a pop tart in the shape of a gun or a student who terrifies his classmate with the assault square root math symbol.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing President Trump needs to Rep Mast is that his comments have been duly noted and he will take them under advisement. But I am 100% in favor of a permanent AR-15 ban in the case of our own dotgov agencies violating its' own laws and ILLEGALLY giving them to known crimes from a foreign country with the intent of creating an incident justifying the disarming of the public (BTAFE operation fast and furious).
Well said.
DeleteA lot of people, including myself, have debated this issue over the last week or so. Winchester patented a semi-automatic rifle for commercial use in 1903. There were no mass shootings until about twenty years ago. In my opinion we have a societal problem, not a gun problem. Never-the-less I offer three suggestions to appease the critics:
ReplyDelete1. Ban bumpstocks. Although Cruz did not use a bumpstock, one was used in the Las Vegas shooting. In my opinion the only purpose of a bumpstock is to circumvent the ban on automatic weapons. Although a bumpstock doesn't convert a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic weapon, functionally it's close enough.
2. Ban weapons sales to anyone on the terrorist watch list. Cruz wasn't on the terrorist watch list but regardless, this simply makes sense.
3. No sales of a semi-automatic weapons to anyone under the age of 21. 21 is an arbitrary but reasonable age. It does not prevent the purchase of bolt action rifles, revolvers, or a non-semi-automatic shotguns.
None of these changes should be onerous to gun owners, but none will prevent mass shootings either.
The real problem is that people used to have a firm sense of right and wrong; now they don't. People used to have a sense of personal accountability; now they don't. People used to respect their fellow man; now they don't. People used to have a sound commitment to family, church, community and country; now they don't. People used to have the ability to laugh at themselves; now they don't. One can ban weapons, magazines and ammunition, but we will remain at risk until our behavior as a society improves.
And sadly, although I've never particularly liked the AR15/M15 I'm on the cusp of buying one before the legislators ban them.
It does not prevent the purchase of bolt action rifles, revolvers, or a non-semi-automatic shotguns.
DeleteBut it does for instance a child's Marlin .22. Can't go there.
"Ban weapons sales to anyone on the terrorist watch list."
ReplyDeleteWho 'watches'...the maker of the 'watch list'?
Maybe Soros' minions.
Delete