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This is her original article, and the link to it.
LINK- http://www.hendersondailynews.com/articles/2005/03/11/opinion/02opiniontue.txt
Let's get assault weapons off our streets
By SHERRY LONG
Staff Writer
A man drives downtown in Tyler and opens fire on the county courthouse steps, killing his ex-wife, an innocent bystander and wounding numerous others.
A sheriff's deputy remains in critical condition from his wounds.
Unfortunately, this story is very familiar.
It happened last Thursday afternoon at the Smith County Courthouse when the shooter was due in court concerning a child custody case.
The man used an AK-47 semi-automatic assault firearm to kill his victims.
A quick check on the Internet revealed that on the same day a Los Angeles city employee shot two co-workers using the same type of gun that was used in the Tyler killings - a semi-automatic assault weapon.
Who needs a semi-automatic weapon?
I fully understand the United States Constitution allows people the right to protect themselves and their homes by owning guns.
But semi-automatic weapons?
What in the world would you kill with a semi-automatic, unless you are just purposely going hunting for other human beings?
Are you going to go out and shoot a deer with a semi-automatic?
I admit that I don't know a lot about hunting, but seems like if you use a semi-automatic there won't be much left of the very animals you're trying to take home for dinner.
Plus, animals will hear a multitude of gunfire, not just one shot.
Personally, I'm scared of guns. I will not go near them, whether they're pistols or rifles. I don't care. I have buried too many friends and family members who died from shooting incidents.
A better question to ask is, why are semi-automatic guns even manufactured?
Most large corporations are driven by the profit motive - cold, hard, green cash. It's a simple true hard fact of life.
How money-hungry and greedy does a corporation have to be to put killing machines on the streets?
In 1994, Congress banned automatic and semiautomatic weapons, but it seems there are more reports than ever about shootings involving assault weapons.
"Immediately after the 1994 law was enacted, the gun industry evaded it by making slight, cosmetic design changes to banned weapons-including those banned by name in the law-and continued to manufacture and sell these "post-ban" or "copycat" guns," as reported in a study by the Violence Policy Center.
In May 2003, a congressman from New York authored a bill to make it harder for gun manufacturers to make and sell the post-ban weapons.
I hope it passes. These types of weapons need to be taken off the streets once and forever.
Federal law states that automatic weapons can only be used by the military.
I can understand the military needing automatic weapons. They conduct business in war zones, where the enemy is likely to be equipped with equally powerful and destructive automatic weapons.
But on the streets of our cities right here at home?
Assault weapons have no place in America or on our streets.
It's not exactly what our founding fathers had in mind when they said we have the right to bear arms and protect ourselves.
____________________________________________
And this is my emailed response.
A law officer's opinion of your article.
I just read your article on the shootings at Tyler and your opinons on semi automatic weapons, and I have a few questions and comments. First of all, do you even know what a semi-automatic weapon is? And do you know the difference between a semi-automatic weapon and an automatic wepon? It seems from reading your article that you don't. From reading your article, I am pretty sure that your idea of a semi-automatic weapon is in reality an automatic weapon, which is a lot different. You go back and forth between using the terms semi-automatic weapons and automatic weapons throughout your article, when the fact is that the weapon used in Tyler was a semi-auto weapon, not an automatic weapon. And Federal law does not say that only the military can have automatic weapons. Any person who files the proper paper work and has a clean criminal record can own any automatic weapon he or she can afford to purchase as long as they follow all ATF guidelines.
As a law enforcement officer I take great offense to our stating that no one needs semi-automatic weapons. What is it exactly that you think keeps this country free from foreign invaders as well as domestic criminals? In your aticle you make it sound as if every law abiding citizen in thsi country who owns a firearm, is a criminal and a blood thirsty maniac. I guess it never occured to you that this whacko that attacked the people in Tyler would have found a way to kill them even if every firearm on earth were destroyed. And it apparently escaped your notice that the reason this psycho's son is alive, is because of a brave selfless hero, named Mr. Wilson, who used a semi-automatic firearm to resuce the young man. You also apparently did not notice that the police used semi-automatic firearms to put an end to that miserbale bastards life. But none of the lives saved by these weapons means anything to you because it doesn't suit your agenda to write about them. It's easier for you to pretend that all firearms are for evil people and evil purposes.
And I can't believe you actually stated that people don't use semi-automatic weapons to hunt. Of ourse people hunt deer with semi auto weapons, every single day. And have for the better part of a century. What do you want people to shoot a deer with? Rocks aren't exactly an affective long range weapon. If you admittedly don't know anything about hunting, then why would you speak ignorantly on a subject you have no knowledge of?
You really dropped the ball when you said that Congress outlawed semi-automatic firarms in 1994.Congress did not in any way shape or form ban any semi-automatic weapons in 1994, or at any other time in the history of this country. What they did was ban the addition of certain cosmetic features to semi-automatic weapons, which in no way has ever had any affect on the manner in which the firearm operates, and had no impact crime in this country. It was a pointless stupid ban, but it never banned any semi-automatic weapons. Your source at the Violence Policy Center is about as biased on the subject as any group on earth, so I can't imagine why a journalist would ever use their "information" in an article. You really need to do some research and fact checking for future articles before publishing blatant lies in.
I will anxiously await your reply to my letter and any explanations you might want to provide in regards to the errors in your article.
Sincerely,
(S.O. Interceptor)-Peace Officer and gun owner.
LINK- http://www.hendersondailynews.com/articles/2005/03/11/opinion/02opiniontue.txt
Let's get assault weapons off our streets
By SHERRY LONG
Staff Writer
A man drives downtown in Tyler and opens fire on the county courthouse steps, killing his ex-wife, an innocent bystander and wounding numerous others.
A sheriff's deputy remains in critical condition from his wounds.
Unfortunately, this story is very familiar.
It happened last Thursday afternoon at the Smith County Courthouse when the shooter was due in court concerning a child custody case.
The man used an AK-47 semi-automatic assault firearm to kill his victims.
A quick check on the Internet revealed that on the same day a Los Angeles city employee shot two co-workers using the same type of gun that was used in the Tyler killings - a semi-automatic assault weapon.
Who needs a semi-automatic weapon?
I fully understand the United States Constitution allows people the right to protect themselves and their homes by owning guns.
But semi-automatic weapons?
What in the world would you kill with a semi-automatic, unless you are just purposely going hunting for other human beings?
Are you going to go out and shoot a deer with a semi-automatic?
I admit that I don't know a lot about hunting, but seems like if you use a semi-automatic there won't be much left of the very animals you're trying to take home for dinner.
Plus, animals will hear a multitude of gunfire, not just one shot.
Personally, I'm scared of guns. I will not go near them, whether they're pistols or rifles. I don't care. I have buried too many friends and family members who died from shooting incidents.
A better question to ask is, why are semi-automatic guns even manufactured?
Most large corporations are driven by the profit motive - cold, hard, green cash. It's a simple true hard fact of life.
How money-hungry and greedy does a corporation have to be to put killing machines on the streets?
In 1994, Congress banned automatic and semiautomatic weapons, but it seems there are more reports than ever about shootings involving assault weapons.
"Immediately after the 1994 law was enacted, the gun industry evaded it by making slight, cosmetic design changes to banned weapons-including those banned by name in the law-and continued to manufacture and sell these "post-ban" or "copycat" guns," as reported in a study by the Violence Policy Center.
In May 2003, a congressman from New York authored a bill to make it harder for gun manufacturers to make and sell the post-ban weapons.
I hope it passes. These types of weapons need to be taken off the streets once and forever.
Federal law states that automatic weapons can only be used by the military.
I can understand the military needing automatic weapons. They conduct business in war zones, where the enemy is likely to be equipped with equally powerful and destructive automatic weapons.
But on the streets of our cities right here at home?
Assault weapons have no place in America or on our streets.
It's not exactly what our founding fathers had in mind when they said we have the right to bear arms and protect ourselves.
____________________________________________
And this is my emailed response.
A law officer's opinion of your article.
I just read your article on the shootings at Tyler and your opinons on semi automatic weapons, and I have a few questions and comments. First of all, do you even know what a semi-automatic weapon is? And do you know the difference between a semi-automatic weapon and an automatic wepon? It seems from reading your article that you don't. From reading your article, I am pretty sure that your idea of a semi-automatic weapon is in reality an automatic weapon, which is a lot different. You go back and forth between using the terms semi-automatic weapons and automatic weapons throughout your article, when the fact is that the weapon used in Tyler was a semi-auto weapon, not an automatic weapon. And Federal law does not say that only the military can have automatic weapons. Any person who files the proper paper work and has a clean criminal record can own any automatic weapon he or she can afford to purchase as long as they follow all ATF guidelines.
As a law enforcement officer I take great offense to our stating that no one needs semi-automatic weapons. What is it exactly that you think keeps this country free from foreign invaders as well as domestic criminals? In your aticle you make it sound as if every law abiding citizen in thsi country who owns a firearm, is a criminal and a blood thirsty maniac. I guess it never occured to you that this whacko that attacked the people in Tyler would have found a way to kill them even if every firearm on earth were destroyed. And it apparently escaped your notice that the reason this psycho's son is alive, is because of a brave selfless hero, named Mr. Wilson, who used a semi-automatic firearm to resuce the young man. You also apparently did not notice that the police used semi-automatic firearms to put an end to that miserbale bastards life. But none of the lives saved by these weapons means anything to you because it doesn't suit your agenda to write about them. It's easier for you to pretend that all firearms are for evil people and evil purposes.
And I can't believe you actually stated that people don't use semi-automatic weapons to hunt. Of ourse people hunt deer with semi auto weapons, every single day. And have for the better part of a century. What do you want people to shoot a deer with? Rocks aren't exactly an affective long range weapon. If you admittedly don't know anything about hunting, then why would you speak ignorantly on a subject you have no knowledge of?
You really dropped the ball when you said that Congress outlawed semi-automatic firarms in 1994.Congress did not in any way shape or form ban any semi-automatic weapons in 1994, or at any other time in the history of this country. What they did was ban the addition of certain cosmetic features to semi-automatic weapons, which in no way has ever had any affect on the manner in which the firearm operates, and had no impact crime in this country. It was a pointless stupid ban, but it never banned any semi-automatic weapons. Your source at the Violence Policy Center is about as biased on the subject as any group on earth, so I can't imagine why a journalist would ever use their "information" in an article. You really need to do some research and fact checking for future articles before publishing blatant lies in.
I will anxiously await your reply to my letter and any explanations you might want to provide in regards to the errors in your article.
Sincerely,
(S.O. Interceptor)-Peace Officer and gun owner.
