Let’s Regulate How Much Ammunition People Can Buy and Ban Assault Rifles

6,100 rounds.  That’s how much ammunition Syed Rizwan Farook amassed for his sinister attack that left 14 dead and another 21 wounded.

6,350 rounds.  That’s how many bullets James Holmes purchased before his attack on a Colorado movie theater killing 12 and wounding another 70.

And 1,500 rounds were found in Adam Lanza’s home, the demonic man who gunned down 27 victims, mostly children, in a Connecticut school.

Assault Rifles Must Be Banned

And in each case, these killers also carried assault rifles.

After each tragedy, we look for clues that would have predicted these sinister plots.  We seek reassurances that there must be a pattern, a possible ‘tell’ that law enforcement could look for to reveal unspeakable evil in decayed hearts before tragedy unfolds.

But human hearts are opaque, evil can be suppressed, and intentions are simply not revealed by any noticeable or trackable personal characteristic.

But intentions can be revealed by what people buy, namely, high quantities of bullets, and assault rifles.

If we mandated the creation of a federal database to capture ammunition purchases we would have that flag we so desperately seek, that ‘tell’ to indicate that something might be amiss before tragedy unfolds.

We must also ban assault rifles for civilian purchases.  While this move would not stop shooters with handguns, it could reduce the number of casualties from their evil deeds.

Extremist will automatically call these ideas extreme, earning their name.  But these extremist are a minority that insist on imposing their minority will on the ever increasing anguished masses.

Extremists will also cry ‘second amendment rights,’ refusing to hear that our right to bear arms was part of a living document, meant to be changed to better govern our beloved country as it changes.  They’ll also refuse to hear that the second amendment is the Only amendment in the Bill of Rights that has never been altered since ratification in 1791.

Could our founding fathers have ever really fathomed assault rifles that could shoot over 1,000 bullets per minute?

We don’t heedlessly change amendments; we update them painstakingly, when the cost of their rigidity to our country exceeds the improved quality of life that would be achieved from betterment.

We live in an extraordinary country with freedom and opportunity that citizens of other countries covet while others cannot even comprehend.  But is our peace of mind under attack because of gun violence?

Americans are more likely to die from homicide than citizens of Yemen; Somalia; Iran.

http://crimeresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Homicide-rates-across-all-countries.jpeg

Roughly one-third of Americans own guns.  The overwhelming majority of these gun owners do not own assault weapons and do not stockpile thousands of rounds of ammunition.

So that leaves what- maybe 1%?  2, 3%? who own assault weapons and amass ammunition?

And how many Americans have some level of fear that someday, they or their children could come face to face with a masked coward waving an assault rifle?  I’m sure it’s far more than a few percent.

You cannot claim to support democracy when the selfish will of so few yields consequences for so many.

That is not democracy.