AR-15s not needed in U.S.A.
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To the editor:
As if we needed any more proof of the venality of politicians working for pro-gun organizations, look to the amendment sponsored by Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana to prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs from reporting certain veterans to the National Criminal Background Check system when their finances are being managed by a conservator at the VA.
Kennedy, who claims this amendment would prevent veterans from being denied their Second Amendment rights, received $538,000 from the pro-gun lobby in 2022, one of the two top recipients in the Senate.
The passage of this amendment came just hours before a U.S. Army reservist in Lewiston, Maine exercised his Second Amendment rights by murdering 18 of his fellow citizens in a bowling alley and a restaurant.
Robert Card from Bowdoin, Maine was described by a local resident as a gun fanatic who would “shoot guns all the time,” and lived in what was “basically a compound.” Liam Kent told NBC News, “for all intents and purposes they are very much associated with right-wing militias. It is known in the town to stay away from them and not approach them.”
During the summer Card was committed to a mental health facility and he reported hearing voices.
Not to worry Senator Kennedy, Card legally purchased the assault weapon that he used in exercising his Second Amendment rights. Ten-year-old Zoey Hutchinson who was wounded in the leg said, “why do people do this?” She went on to say, “People have families and they’re young people who still have long lives ahead of them, and people shouldn’t be coming in and doing that. That’s not Ok.”
No, Zoey, it is not okay, and it happens too frequently in this country.
So far in 2023 there have been 567 mass shootings, with 50 people each day dying from gun violence.
Maine’s most famous resident author Stephen King responded this way, this is madness in the name of freedom. Stop electing apologists for murder.” In a second post, he added, “THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN IN OTHER COUNTRIES.”
What about the rights of those who chose to go to a bowling alley or to a restaurant or bar for a corn hole tossing tournament? President Joe Biden called on congressional Republicans to “fulfill” their obligations to keep Americans safe,” unlikely to happen in the face of heavy push back from gun advocacy groups and their supporters in Congress.
If you have any doubts about Congress in the back pocket of the gun lobby, on February 17, Representatives Lauren Boebert and George Santos sponsored HR 1095 to make the AR-15 the National Gun of the United States.
Speaking at a campaign rally, Biden said, “who the hell needs an assault weapon that can hold, in some cases up to 100 rounds?”
The perpetrator of this unspeakable tragedy has been found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Mary Kathryn
Gepner
Benton