December 6, 2022

By Bob Williamson

How pathetic, with more than 600 mass shootings in America this year, many by AR-15s, Congress lacks the votes to curb the mayhem. If the vote were left to registered voters instead of Republicans in DC, we’d fix this lethal problem.

Wait two years until Democrats regain the majority? The status quo guarantees more bloodbaths because GOP lawmakers lack the spine to do what’s needed.

This is personal for me. Thirty-four years ago my children’s school was ravaged by an armed intruder in Winnetka, Illinois. One eight-year-old boy was killed and five others were wounded. Only dumb luck spared my two daughters that day. We need better than dumb luck.

Last month, an Army vet in the Colorado Springs’ Club Q ran toward the shooter wielding an AR-15, tackled him, and another brave soul joined him to pin the gunman to the floor until the police arrived.

We’re not asking Republican Congressmen to show that kind of courage, just stand up to NRA lobbyists armed with a checkbook.

These rapid-fire combat-style guns are the weapon of choice for bad actors for good reason: they cause the most damage quickly. One little girl in Uvalde was so riddled by bullets, she was only identified by her green high top sneakers. Keep in mind more than 20 million of these assault weapons are in civilian hands.

The late Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson said: “The slaughter of innocents is the price we pay for freedom.” I agree, it’s tragically profit over people.

The tenth anniversary of Sandy Hook comes on Dec. 12th. That nightmare claimed 26 victims, 20 children & six teachers, mowed down by a deeply disturbed young man with an assault rifle

Last May it was a neighborhood market in Buffalo, where a white supremacist slaughtered 10 African Americans with his AR-15.

Uvalde followed soon after. Nineteen youngsters were killed, and two teachers died. The police froze in fear for an hour before storming the classroom where the shooter was, because he had an AR-15.

Then in Highland Park, Illinois, a July 4th parade was the next battle zone, where seven fatalities occurred, again by an AR-15.

These are only a few of the high profile mass shootings that grabbed headlines. Each day more than 100 Americans die from gunfire. Since 1970 more U.S. citizens have been killed by bullets than in all our wars going all the way back to the American Revolutionary War.

If only those victims and their families could vote in Congress.

I wonder what legacy Republican leaders in Congress imagine for themselves? How about saving lives by banning assault weapons? The time is now.