Liberal policies are the problem
Before an editor writes an opinion, I would hope he or she would do a little more research than just watching a “CBS This Morning” report on Active Shooters.
If you did some research, you would know that the Assault Weapons Ban did not actually ban the sale of military style semi-automatic rifles. It only banned certain physical attributes of specific weapons. All the manufacturer had to do was change the appearance of the weapons to comply with the law. It did nothing to decrease the sale of ?assault weapons; in fact, their sales went up tenfold. Therefore, stating that the repeal of a law, that accomplished nothing, is causing these shootings shows ignorance.
If you looked up crime rates in the U.K., you would find that gun crimes have risen 35 percent since they banned all guns.
Further research would reveal that all of the worst attacks occurred in Gun Free Zones, where innocent people were prohibited from defending themselves. Gun Free Zones have spread dramatically over the last 20 years, from not only public, but also to private locations. They have created killing zones, where a coward knows he can attack without anyone shooting back. In places where armed citizens were allowed to defend themselves, the loss of life was greatly reduced or eliminated. But CBS does not report that.
Still more research would show you that we have never defunded any mental health programs. In fact, spending on federal/state prescription drug, Medicare, Medicaid and hundreds of other programs are at record highs and have never had spending decreased, ever. All these services were available long before Obamacare was written. For the last five years we have been spending $1 trillion over what the federal government brings in each year. Spending on everything, except the military, has gone through the roof with no end in sight. Show me one benefit that has been defunded.
Most of these so called active shooters showed clear signs of mental illness long before they committed these terrible acts. However, for decades now the ACLU has tied the hands of health care professionals. They have succeeded, in the courts, at making it a ?civil rights violation to have a patient detained or committed because of mental illness. The naval yard shooter called the police well before his attack, begging for help. He even fired a rifle in his apartment, yet no one did anything to help him. It wasn’t a lack of funding, he had excellent health care. The authorities are simply paralyzed by the fear of an ACLU lawsuit.
The only thing you and CBS had right was the fact that 24-hour media coverage has encouraged many of these copy-cat murders.
If the editor truly wants to see an end to this senseless violence, a good start would be to get off the couch and away from the TV, where gun bans and spending increases are the quick and easy answer to everything. Then, open your mind to the fact that many of the liberal policies enacted over the last 30-40 years have done more to cause our problems then they have to solve them.
Steve Renz
Peters Township