Post Sandy Hook

Some comments regarding the aftermath of Sandy Hook made on FB:

Now that more details are out.... Unlike the Aurora shooting, this wasn't a case of a looney being able to buy firearms legally--he killed his mother and stole her guns. As such, there's no way additional purchase checks would've helped, because his mother was a legal owner. The shooter was not of legal age to purchase any of those weapons. (One post I saw claimed that the shooter broke 40-some laws in the commission of the massacre. What he did was already illegal.) Well, in my case, if someone were to break into my home and kill me, all my guns are locked up--except for the one I carry. I'm curious as to whether the shooter's mother had her stuff locked, but after her son shot her, he could get access via key (or perhaps he knew the combination if that sort of lock).

I wasn't talking about suppressing discourse. I was talking about 1) not using the terrible incident to push a political agenda before the victims were buried, and 2) we didn't know all the details. What's up with all the inaccuracies in the media? The shooter was the younger brother, not the older one; the mother was killed at home, not at the school; and reports said the kid used handguns as the primary weapon, when it was really an AR-15. How the hell are people supposed to have meaningful discussion if they don't even have the facts right?

Note also that hating on "military-grade assault weapons" is pure spin. First of all, Mexico has a ban on civilian ownership of "military" calibers, and how's that working out for them so far? (Hint: It's not. It doesn't help when they've got so many crooked cops and soldiers, though.) Almost all of my guns are of military calibers: 9mm, .45ACP, 12ga, 5.56 NATO, 7.62 NATO, .30-06, etc. How about the "police caliber", .40S&W? Several non-semi-automatic ("assault weapon" is a bullshit term made up by hoplophobes) firearms I have are of former Eastern bloc military calibers: 7.62x38R, 7.62x54R, etc. The only non-military cartridges I use are .22LR and 20ga. So that's what you'd be comfortable leaving gun owners with?

Note also that .223 (5.56 NATO) is a fairly weak cartridge, despite its use by our military. Most hunting calibers have more power than this: .243, .22-250, etc. Many hunting calibers can pierce soft body armor (up to Level IIIA). So the end game of the hoplophobes is that all guns have to go, no exceptions. And the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting or sporting uses: it's about giving the government pause when thinking about subjugating the governed, and in order to do that, citizens must be able to own "military-grade" weapons. Some scoff at that, but consider that the hoplophobes are still reluctant to push through the kind of anti-gun legislation that you're suggesting--they know that it would result in a lot of bloodshed (the CCRKBA popularized the slogan that Charlton Heston later repeated, ending in "from my cold, dead hands"). And even if they do wipe us all out, we'll make them feel it, and the poor sons of bitches who didn't stand up for themselves will finally get the government that they deserve.

That's not to say that I don't think anything should be done in light of the shooting, or that the discussions regarding gun ownership shouldn't be had. I think it's just too easy for some people to take the easy way out intellectually and go for tried and failed policies.

There were two responses, one linking to an article pointing out that the NRA always says in response to a shooting that now is not the time for discussions of gun legislation, and another linking to a comment on an article that makes a proposal regarding dealing with gun ownership. But holy crap, all the AR-15 lower receivers online are sold out, everywhere....