It's been a busy week, capped off by a long 10-hour work day on Saturday. I'm hoping I can stay motivated enough today to send out my Christmas cards. We'll see about that. In any event, I haven't had any time to create a post.
That doesn't mean I haven't been coming up with ideas. In fact, earlier in the week, I was having a difficult time deciding what to write about in my next post. I couldn't decide between my ear wax "incident" (trust me, the thing I pulled out of my right ear was so amazing you need to hear about it) or those completely awful WBAL-TV editorials that run several times each week (how they come up with so many completely non-controversial topics is beyond me).
Then the shooting in Connecticut happened. I was at home on Friday morning, getting ready for a meeting in DC that afternoon. It was an exceptionally busy morning, one where I wasn't able to make my periodic stops at www.cnn.com to see what was going on in the world. So, when I came upstairs to head out the door, I was shocked to hear Kim tell me what had happened. Now that two days have gone by, I've had some time to try and process things. The question I keep coming back to is why any private citizen needs to own an assault rifle?
First things first. I'm a waterfowl hunter. I got introduced to hunting when I met Kim's family. I really enjoy it. In fact, if I could, I'd do it every day during the season. I've tried to get my kids interested but have had no luck. That's been a disappointment for me since I think that there's a lot to learn about nature, yourself, and others when you spend time in a blind.
Because I hunt, I own a shotgun. I appreciate the fact that I live in a country where I'm allowed to own a shotgun. But, it's always amazed me that, when I first got one, I just walked into a store, paid my money, and walked out with it. There were no questions asked and no requirement that I take any sort of safety course. It's kind of odd -- to get a hunting license, you do need to take a safety course. But, to own the gun, none is required.
So, it was pretty darn easy for me to purchase a shotgun. Perhaps that makes sense since a shotgun can't be concealed (unlike a handgun) and only holds three shells (unlike an assault rifle, with their high-capacity magazines). Perhaps.
I've thought for the past 48 hours about why anyone really needs an assault rifle and I can't think of a single good reason. If you can, I'd be happy to hear it. And, please don't say "To defend myself against someone else who's armed with one." That won't work for me.
I saw this morning that Diane Feinstein plans to introduce legislation on the first day of the next Congressional session that would limit the "sale, transfer, and possession" of assault weapons. I can't wait to see who tries to suppress the bill or, if it comes to a vote, votes against it. In a common sense world, that bill would pass in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I don't think we live in a common sense world.