There are few countries in the world that allow a man legally arm himself with dozens of machine guns in a hotel room

By SJ Otto

So a man goes into a high class hotel and takes to his room nearly two dozen guns, mostly what most people would call assault riffles and no one is suspicious that something bad might happen.

While it may be legal for hotel management to let someone stay in a room with that many guns, I am wondering what the average person would need or do with that many riffles? I can see taking a few for a nearby hunting trip, but over a dozen? What could you possibly need with that many guns?

And what kind of country allows people to buy bump-fire stocks. Stephen Paddock, from the 32 floor of the at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, who shot down on at the Los Vegas country music concert, with Jason Aldean onstage, had 12 of those in his hotel room. There was no reason for the hotel management to search Paddock for those. Who would expect him to have them?

These devices are perfectly legal. They are mounted on the back of the semi-automatic riffles, to make the gun fire bullet after bullet without having to pull the trigger. It sounds just like a machine gun or as the experts say, an automatic weapon. But it only simulates automatic fire. It isn't actually automatic fire. From the sounds of the guns they fired on TV the other night, the only difference is that a real automatic can fire bullets at a much faster pace. But both guns can fire bullet after bullet without needing to pull the trigger more than once. If there is a big difference here I am just not seeing it.

Paddock was able to fire each gun for as long as it took for the gun barrel to get so hot it would jam. Then Paddock just grabbed a fresh one and was able to keep up his rapid fire assault. He kept the bullets firing for about nine minutes.

The amazing thing about all of this is that Paddock did not break a single gun law, or any other law, until he broke the hotel window with some kind of hammer. Chances are the hotel does not allow gests to vandalize their windows. And of course when the first bullet hit someone in the crowd, he was finally guilty of murder and attempted murder.

Most of the NRA's pro-gun argument are about hand guns. But all of this was done with assault riffles. These are guns that are close to a machine gun for all practical purposes. They are not good hunting weapons, they are mostly good for assaulting people and killing them. The NRA has gone a good job of making guns easy to get and use. And it was not enough for them to just fight for the rights of people to own guns. They pushed to let people carry them. Then when some people tried to keep people from carrying guns on their property, or public institutions, the NRA supporters and allies started passing all kinds of laws preventing people from keeping those who carry guns from keeping them on public property. The NRA has protected the rights of people with mental illness to own and carry guns. Conservatives have gotten laws past that allow those who carry guns to go to bars. The NRA and Republicans believes that alcohol and guns really do mix. Lately they are trying to get silencers legal. Everyone knows what a silencer is for—so that a person can shoot some one without making enough noise to draw attention to the act. It's an assassin's weapon. And the NRA and many Republicans wants to make them legal.

The only thing a bump-fire stock is useful for is to allow a person to fire a steady stream of bullets without having to pull the trigger—kind of like a machine gun. Such guns are good for assaulting and killing people—or for intimidating people, such as when Ammon Bundy and his followers took over a federal building in rural Oregon. That is the kind of thing conservatives think are good ideas. Some Conservatives and Republicans have admitted that owning guns is not about hunting. To some conservatives their guns are about the right to fight against their own government if they feel it to become too "totalitarian." From the Republican Views on Gun Control:

"Conservative philosophy is deeply rooted in individual rights and the retention of traditional social institutions.  Although there is no single set of tenets that can be universally viewed as conservative, American conservatism can be fairly characterized as a way of thinking that emphasizes stability and continuity, respect for republicanism, and support for tradition, “the rule of law,” and Christian values.  The Conservative philosophy honors the defense of Western civilization from the challenges imposed upon it by a modernist culture, and the encroachments of totalitarian governments and outside entities (the U.N.) headquartered abroad.  It should surprise no one who studies politics to discover that Republican ideology concurs with conservative values with respect to the broader justification of gun control.  Indeed, Republican views on gun control can accurately be characterized as mostly adverse to gun control legislation initiated at the Federal level.  This is so because most people who agree with Republican views on gun control consider government policy to be invasive if it interferes with the Constitutional rights of gun owners."

I have never been in favor of banning handguns. I believe that people on the left need to embrace guns way more than they do. It is too dangerous to just allow only the American right to arm itself to the teeth while Democrats, liberals, some democratic socialists and other leftists avoid guns altogether. Why should we allow ourselves to be defenseless against Republicans and other right-wingers.

And While I hate the NRA, I don't disagree with everything they say. We do need gun rights and many of us really should have arms. If there is ever a breakdown of the federal government we could easily be targets of right-wing bullies.

But the NRA and the Republican Party have gone to absurd lengths to protect the most ridiculous forms of weaponry. They are defending the weapons of assassins. How badly does the average person in America need a lot of machine guns or any gun that is rapid fire?

The idea that a man can bring a dozen automatic riffles into a hotel and no one questions him is insane. That all he does is legal is also insane. The NRA, the Republican Party and its allies won't even agree to the registration of assault riffles, even if they are to stay legal. Every type of weapon, no matter how dangerous, has the deep support of the NRA and its Republican Party allies. The NRA is one of the most successful lobbyist in the country. Their stances are just outright insane. And with the Republican Party virtually running this country the last 20 to 30 years, abortion has almost been wiped out do to Republican over-regulation. Recreational drug use has been heavily restricted, often to the point of being ridiculous and yet guns have virtually no regulations at all. Fully automatic weapons are outlawed and they are about the only guns a person can't legally own.

I'm not for banning guns, but a few regulations make common sense. It is time to stop the madness of the NRA and its Republican allies. And the NRA IS a Republican Party front group. It virtually never supports Democrats, even when the Democrats are pro-gun. At times the NRA will lie about a Democrat's stance on guns. It is time to stand up to gun crazy leaders of the Republican Party and the NRA (which is almost the same thing). We need some common sense, which is sorely lacking on the Republican side.

Pix by Peace and Social Justice Center of South Central Kansas‎ Remembering Las Vegas.


Adding to this:

Tonight there was action at Warren Square. I wasn't there so I got this picture from Facebook. -SJ Otto

Peace and Social Justice Center of South Central Kansas shared Moms Demand Action - KS's post.

Moms Demand Action - KS

Yesterday at 11:58am · 

The NRA has bought some members of Congress, and now Americans are paying the price for their greed.

Tell Congress to #RejectTheNRA's radical "guns everywhere for anyone" agenda: Text REJECT to 64433 to be connected to your member of Congress.

Thank you to everyone who attended tonight's vigil. Together we will #KeepGoing to #DisarmTheNRA! #VegasStrong