Another horrific and senseless slaughter of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil is now looking like a white nationalist-motivated act of domestic terrorism. The weapon of choice to kill the most people as fast as possible is, of course, the AK-47 assault rifle.
As numerous retired military, active and retired police officers and responsible gun owners have all agreed in letters to this newspaper, there is no damn justification for these weapons of war to be accessible to the public. They, along with other high-powered, rapid-fire large-magazine rifles, have no place in our (so-called) civil society. And with their ban, require background checks on all gun/rifle purchases, with prosecution for any legal owner who lends a firearm that is used to commit a felony.
Whether because of a secret oath of office, or fear of losing campaign contributions, the spineless Republicans (most of them, and some Democrats) refuse to initiate and pass common sense legislation that may earn the displeasure of the NRA.
Have we reached a new willful level of disconnect to these continued attacks that there is nothing we can (and should) do to at least lesson their frequency and magnitude of carnage?
It is equally disturbing as most of us are slowly learning how large this hate movement is becoming, either on purpose or recklessly enabled by the current Oval Office occupant, who continually disqualifies himself of the character needed to be leader of the free world.
We can’t prevent all rogue assailants from committing violent acts in the future, but, along with reeling in the foment and division spewing from our current president and passing these kinds legislative limits, don’t you think there would be fewer mass shootings with less severity?
As always, our greatest weapon for change is our vote — 2020 is ever becoming a pivotal time in our history to address critical issues before it is too late, i.e., climate change, health care reform, immigration reform, fiscal responsibility, reestablishing international leadership and others as urgency and budget demand.
Peter R. Finn, Salt Lake City
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