“Common Sense”

By Jim Culp

August 9, 2019

I recently read an article (and subsequent petition) called “Common Sense Gun Control.” The article’s author suggests that gun ownership should be regulated much in the same way that automobiles are. That means that things like registration, insurance, and licensing would all come into play.

I would like to suggest how much this type of ideology is based on ignorance. So, I am going to name three ideas that I have heard proposed in the last year and render unto you my gift of knowledge on the subject. If you don’t know me, I am a retied soldier, a veteran of 22 years of military service, two wars, and a former Certified 5^th Army Instructor. I am a graduate of two Gunsmithing and Ballistics schools, and a lifetime gun owner and shooter. I am not going to support Democrat or Republican agendas in this blog, because I believe the two-party ideology to be a failed system.

So, let’s talk suggestions by several people that I have heard in the recent past, including two that were suggested very recently (and in light of) the El Paso and Dayton shootings. (“S” is the statement, “A” is my answer)

1.      (S) “We should ban assault weapons, because no one needs them.”

(A)  This is based upon ignorance. The statement should read “ban semi-automatic weapons that I don’t understand very well.” AR-15’s and Semi-Automatic military copies are not assault weapons. An assault weapon is built for combat… and is capable of burst or semi-automatic fire. I have a .22 rifle in my closet that I have owned since I was 12. It has a tube magazine that holds 18 rounds; and is semi-automatic. It can fire those 18 rounds in less than 30 seconds if I want it to. In my hands, it’s a deadly weapon. Is that an Assault Rifle? No, it’s a plinking and hunting rifle in a small rimfire caliber. Can I kill a man with it? Yes. Have I ever? No.

2.      (S) “Guns purchases should require the accompaniment of a license and an insurance policy.”

(A)  You already must show an identification to purchase a gun of any type. Are there some “Gun Show loopholes?” Sure, there are. This is a free society. People are free to sell guns to one another as a free citizen. Yes, those people should be required to see a person’s identification to ensure they are ownership age. It’s the right thing to do. But if a government needs to tell you that, you are someone that needs to attend training at the local police department about gun laws.

I add to this answer by saying that I RE-sold guns at gun shows for 20 years. It’s how I got so much experience. I owned over 70 different firearms in my adult life. Not once did I do anything illegal. I made people show me an ID, and 90% of them happily complied. The ones that didn’t were told to take the train. I didn’t do that for any government rule, I did it because it was the right thing to do.

3.      (S) “Our streets will be safer if we enact more gun laws.”

(A) Absolute ignorance and nonsense. Outlaws don’t work by your rules. Drug dealers don’t check the law books before they buy illegal guns to protect their shipments. We hear a bunch of talk about Chicago and Baltimore these days. The fact is, they are down the list for murders. Detroit has 316 murders annually. That’s doesn’t even touch the amount of rapes and assaults, and most of them without firearms. Next on my list is New Orleans. It has a staggering 156 murders per year, and that is insane for a state of its size.  Again, that doesn’t even count all the rapes, robberies, and assaults.

Furthermore, I am going to tell you my final thoughts on all of this. Taking a responsible citizen’s firearms away is a colossal mistake. Can it happen? You bet it can. But making some better laws for punishment of criminals would serve us way better. Bring back chain gangs. Re-enact laws that use criminals for cleaning up highways and storm damaged areas.  Stop sending all these countries (like Israel and many others) taxpayer’s monies. We don’t pay taxes for our government to squander it on other countries. Now for my pet peeves. People who commit savage crimes need to executed in no more than 30 days. People who molest children (especially priests) need to be publicly crucified. Governments and politicians are 100% reactive, and mostly never proactive. The governments of our 50 states (and that District where all the idiots run our country) do not have the best interest of the working American citizen in their plans. The two-party system that has dragged our country closer and closer to revolution is a failed state… and will most likely lead to some idiot like Trump or Biden declaring Martial Law, then declaring themselves a dictator. If you are naïve enough to think that something like that is impossible, just study history. No one thought it would happen in Italy, German, or Russia. Just read a book or too and see how that worked.

Finally, I’ll end with a short sentence that was written in 1791 and called the Second Amendment. It was included in the first ten of the Bill of Rights.

A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

-Jim

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