JS Online:Editorial: There is a middle ground

Here we go again. The NRA's convention is in Milwaukee. The local news has an op-ed piece on "reasonable gun control," and couches it in phrases of civility and good-natured "can't we all just get along" rhetoric. Then they spoil their "reasonable" approach with an insipid statement like this:

What we do have a hard time buying is that military-style, semiautomatic weapons are essential to the right to hunt. Yet in backing a federal ban on such weapons, we find ourselves accused of trying to outlaw all guns. These rapid-fire weapons are a favorite of organized gangs and mass killers and a peril to law officers. So as we see it, the NRA's successful lobbying to lift that ban aids the bad guys.

One more time: the Second Amendment to the Constitution does not guarantee a right to hunt. It guarantees a right to keep and bear arms. It's real simple. As for those dastardly military-style semi-automatic weapons, keep your stinkin' hands off mine. I don't need a reason for having one. I have a right to have one. You don't have a right to take it away. End of debate.

Now go enforce the laws we already have too many of.