Law | Opinion | Politics

Steve Russell: Congress is not required to buy the NRA's stupidity

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) led a nearly 15-hour filibuster on the Senate floor on June 15, 2016, to seek action on gun violence in the United States. Image from Twitter

Steve Russell, a member of the Cherokee Nation, offers some thoughts on gun violence in the United States:

In the case of assault rifles, we do not choose to inconvenience law abiding and sensible people who enjoy their toys to obstruct mass killings. The National Rifle Association, which when I was a member represented gun owners but for a long time has switched to gun makers, claims that taking the MCX off the market today leads to taking your duck gun off the market tomorrow. I did not notice duck guns being confiscated between 1994 and 2004.
The hue and cry about the government coming for guns happens every election and the purpose is not just to tilt the election results. It is to sell guns. The NRA opposes registering guns like cars, so it’s hard to be certain, but most scholars believe the market is saturated.
As is the case with cars, the numbers of guns per owner are on the rise. Each confiscation scare spikes sales, mostly to existing gun owners. If you are on the NRA mailing list, you have seen the regular predictions.
The need for assault weapons assumes a need to assault something. Hunters don’t speak in terms of assaulting game and competitive shooters don’t assault targets. Neither game nor targets are known to shoot back, so the sexy features of assault rifles are for nothing but pleasures of the imagination. Until the pleasures migrate from imagination to reality.

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Also Today:
Senate Democrats end marathon filibuster, announce Republicans agree to gun-control vote (The Washington Post 6/16)
Senator’s 15-Hour Filibuster Gains ‘Path Forward’ on Gun Control Measures (The New York Times 6/16)