July 6, 2022
Dear editor;
Ho hum, another mass shooting, only this time a little closer to home. The weapon used? Yup, you guessed it… an assault-style rifle, capable of belching out 30 rounds of human-obliterating ammo per clip. The shooter in Highland Park, Ill.? A young, white, male who legally purchased this weapon, along with several others, having passed multiple background checks in the recent past, in spite of some clear indicators of his mental instability!
With his weapon’s firing more than 70 rounds into a crowd of Independence Day parade watchers, it is indeed fortunate that the resulting carnage wasn’t even worse! How many deaths and wounds, both physical and mental, would have been prevented if this weapon had not been legally available to the individual? How ironic that a crowd celebrating independence was being held captive by a killer who enjoyed the freedom to own a weapon of war! What is wrong with this picture?
Although our Congress has recently shown some willingness to take a few baby-steps toward common sense gun-law reform, they adamantly refuse to address the most obvious common thread which ties all these mass shootings together: Availability of assault style firearms to the general public. We hear yammerings of defending the rights of our citizenry according to the 2nd Amendment of our Constitution, but in truth the reason that these guns remain on the market is plain and simple: Money! From the perspective of the gun manufacturers, in comparing the respective profitabilities of assault-style rifles to handguns, it’s obvious which weapons contribute most to their bottom line. Who speaks to Congress on behalf of these manufacturers? The NRA, of course! And in what language does the NRA speak? Dollars. A lot of them! As long as we have members of Congress who are willing to trade the safety and security of their constituents, for the financial support of the NRA, this Nation’s suffering through mass shootings will continue.
But, we are not powerless to change this sad outlook. It’s time to remove these self-serving Republican obstructionists from office. Learn what you can about the financial support accepted by the various candidates in the upcoming Fall elections. Then use the power of your vote to make for a safer future for us all.
Vince Smith, Big Rock