Once again we have the insanity of the NRA

By SJ Otto

Once again we have a school shooting. We had 17 known students killed by a former high school student who got mad and decided to "shoot up the school."

People will wring their hands and complain that we should pass some kind of gun laws. Maybe we need better background checks? Maybe stop guns from being around a school? Maybe put restrictions on what kind of guns people can buy?

But we all know that any new gun laws are "dead on arrival." The NRA (National Riffle Association or as I put it, National Republican Association since this group almost always supports Republicans) will oppose any new gun laws and no politician will dare to oppose what they say. Oh sure... a few Democrats will bravely stand up and propose new gun restrictions, but the NRA will win in the final count and nothing will change. For example, just look at all the other school shooting that have taken place in the last 20 years. There was quite a bit. Or worse yet, let's look at the school shootings in the last year. There have been 18 school shootings in the first 45 days of 2018. That seems like a lot.

So what does the NRA and their finely tuned leadership say about these shootings? "Good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns," According to such right-wing jerks as Todd Rokita, Member of the US House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th district. We hear that refrain over and over again from both the NRA and Republican politicians.

I don't want a lot of restrictions on guns. I oppose gun control in general. But the NRA and the Republicans have supported gun rights and the right to conceal and carry to the point where they have gotten ridiculous. Should we change the law to the point where 18 year olds, rather than being 21 years of age, are allowed to carry guns? Such changes have been in the works and the NRA supports that. Is there an age where people are just too immature to own dangerous hand guns or assault riffles? According to the NRA the answer is no. Any one of any age should be able to buy a hand gun or any kind of gun.

There is a way to defend the right of adults to own guns and there are common sense ideas as to keeping such weapons from children. If the NRA gets their way, their new motto will be "good children with guns (hand guns or assault riffles) can stop bad children who have guns. The NRA support insanity and the rest of the country needs to wake up and stop this ridiculous organization.