Around the Water Cooler panelists answered the following: Do you support broader gun control measures that include a ban on assault weapons?
Nants Foley: “Yes.”
Louise Ledesma: “Yes, Yes, Yes. There is no reason for people to own an assault weapon. Those weapons are for only the military and are intended to kill as many people as possible in a short time. Hunters wouldn’t want them, there would be no meat left to eat! We also need to install a national background check so that unfit people can’t go from from one state to another or purchase these weapons at gun shows. There have been to many mass killings and the killings in Newtown must be the last. Remember the innocent children.”
Bill Mifsud: “YES. We have the right to bear arms but an assault rifle serves no purpose. I know hunters and none of them kill prey with an assault rifle. There is no need for a gun/assault rifle to have a clip holding more than one bullet. Reform is needed.”
Ruth Erickson: “Yes. There is no reason for anyone to need or use an assault weapon, unless they work in law enforcement or the military. This should be a federal law to keep people from crossing state lines to purchase such weapons in the next state. The right to bear arms as stated in the Constitution must be read and understood in the context of the 18th century when ‘arms’ referred to a musket with a single shot, not an assault weapon with a multiple ammunition clip. The ‘militia’ in the 18th century meant ‘the people’ who came together when called upon. Our present day militia is our trained armed forces, our military. ‘We the people’ don’t need assault weapons.”
Mary Zanger: “Yes, I believe in stricter gun controls like background checks, database records, special requirements, mental health clearances, plus a ban on assault rifles, and ammunition magazines. We need to revisit the 2nd amendment. ‘Right to bear arms…’ is miltaristic language meaning militia. Two-hundred, twenty-six years later there is no need for a militia, not with a National Guard in every state and all states behaving themselves very well. At one time each state regarded itself as an independent country. The 2nd amendment is an anachronism. There is absolutely no reason for guns in our society considering we regard ourselves as civilized. It seems to be that the idea of toting a rifle chasing imaginary enemies appears quixotic and no longer laughable when the ‘enemy’ becomes our children and us. Then it becomes unspeakable tragedy.”
Julie Morris: “Yes, I favor stricter controls on automatic assault weapons. They have no other purpose than to kill multiple people, quickly. How is that upholding the second amendment?”
Marty Richman: “Yes, I would support an assault weapons ban and better background checks for all purchasers, but I would not support any additional restrictions on gun ownership for law-abiding adult citizens.”
Richard Place: “No, they forgot to include first graders pointing fingers.”
