Las Vegas: It’s Not About “guns”

After every mass shooting, the NRA says it’s not about guns. They’re right.

It’s about military style assault weapons.

The Supreme Court, in Heller v. DC, finally ruled that the Second Amendment’s “right to keep and bear arms” is an individual right. But no rights are ever absolute. Your free speech doesn’t allow libel. Your right to drive doesn’t include driving drunk. All rights are subject to reasonable laws to protect society, and people against harm by others (the basis for all law). Surely that applies — indeed, especially — to weapons. Does the “right to keep and bear arms” extend to howitzers? Nuclear weapons? I don’t think so.

And what about military style assault weapons? The kind used in Newtown, San Bernardino, Orlando, and now Las Vegas, to rapidly spray bullets and kill a lot of people very fast? These weapons have no legitimate sport shooting or hunting use, nor are they suited to protecting oneself against intruders. Their only function is to kill a lot of people fast.

Allowing anyone to buy such weapons is simply insane.

Stop talking about “guns” and “gun control.” It just raises the false concern that people’s guns will be taken away (which could never happen). Let’s talk instead just about military assault weapons. Maybe if gun evangelists would understand that their right to ordinary guns is not at issue, they’d see the reasonableness of banning private ownership of military assault rifles, howitzers, and nuclear weapons.