I was excited last week when I read that Al Hoffman Jr, a real estate developer from Palm Beach, FL, and a major Republican donor, announced he would not fund any candidate or group that doesn’t endorse a ban on assault rifles.
I thought, “Aha! At last someone who talks the language of politicians, that being dollars, is ready to leverage his power for sensible gun legislation. That’s great!”
My excitement was short-lived. “No, that’s not so good,” I thought. “What if he had decided to withhold his money from candidates based on something else? What if it were something I didn’t agree with?”
Oh, the complicated times we live in!
I agree with Hoffman’s desire to ban non-military ownership of assault rifles. President Bill Clinton signed an assault weapon ban in 1994, but President George W. Bush allowed it to lapse in 2004. Efforts to renew it have failed as the National Rifle Association (Current slogan, “It’s not just about guns. It’s about freedom”) stands behind the Second Amendment, claiming it’s every American’s right to keep and bear arms — read that “any and as many guns he or she wants.”
Like most folks, I don’t argue against people owning shotguns and rifles and even handguns. Some people enjoy hunting and target shooting. But what’s the purpose of owning an assault rifle? Who goes deer or turkey hunting with an AR-15? An AR-15 isn’t even the weapon of choice against zombies, as it’s loud and will attract all other zombies in the area. Better have unlimited ammo if you’re fighting the Zombie Apocalypse with an AR-15.
What an assault weapon is good for is killing lots of people. That’s why the military uses them. An assault weapon was used at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, last week to kill 17 people; at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL, in 2016 to kill 49 people; at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, in 2012 to kill 26 first graders and two teachers; at a movie theatre in Aurora, CO, in 2012 to kill 12 people and injure 58; and at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO, in 1999 to kill 15 people and injure 24.
“Oh,” the gun lovers will say, “that proves a ban on assault rifles doesn’t work! They were banned when the Columbine shooting happened.”
In 1999, the Columbine shooting was an aberration. Mass shootings in schools were uncommon. Now, without a ban, they happen with alarming frequency. Already in 2018 there have been seven intentional shootings at schools during normal school hours. That’s a Snopes.com paring down of the 18 claimed last week by the gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, taking out two suicides, three accidental discharges, some guns shot into the air and a window or two with bullet holes.
Yes, I agree with Al Hoffman. Limiting civilian ownership of assault rifles would be a good step to assure public safety.
But, what makes Hoffman’s opinion more important than mine, except for hundreds of thousands of dollars he can use to influence politicians toward legislation he’d like to see?
Our democracy is based on the premise of one person having one vote. It took five amendments to the Constitution to get it right. Finally, since 1971, every male and female citizen age 18 and older can vote, but only once in each election. However, people who have lots of money to donate for political purposes can have a huge influence in an election, almost like voting over and over again.
It’s complicated. I may agree with the end result in the matter of assault rifles, but I chafe at the process of getting there.
Maybe my homeschooling stepdaughter has the right idea. I don’t worry that Adam or Leah will be shot while doing their studies at their kitchen table. ~by Victoria Riley, GreeneCountyNewsOnline editor/publisher
