Here is a thought (and a prayer). Every member of Congress who opposes the ban on assault weapons should be required to travel to the site of the shooting immediately. They should be required to view the bullet holes in the walls, the blood on the floor and the photos of the bodies of each victim. They should be required to speak face to face with every family member of each victim. They should be required to attend each funeral service for each victim.
Perhaps seeing the carnage up close, seeing that these weapons don’t just kill people, they destroy them, might finally resonate. Identifying victims is often nearly impossible; victims are identified by the shoes they were wearing, or worse, a DNA sample.
While we’re at it, instead of blaming this on mental health – whether it’s rage or fear or hearing voices – how about funding mental health treatment?
Finally, saying that people have a “right to defend themselves” is an excuse to own these weapons is preposterous. Not a single person gunned down last week was carrying an assault rifle just in case they “needed to defend themself” when they went out that night. No one needs these guns for “sport.” There is no “sport” in “target shooting” with a weapon that sprays bullets like a fire hose and can pierce a Kevlar vest.
Sarah Sweet
Topsham
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