Have you had enough yet? Three shootings in the Fargo/Moorhead area in a week. Two 6 year olds shot. Two national mass shootings in a week. A mass shooting in Minnesota last month. School children need to practice active shooter drills. Have you had enough yet?
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New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, and Canada have had mass shootings. However, they enacted strict gun control in weeks and months. What endures the U.S. to continue to allow gun violence?
In 2016 the National Rifle Association spent $100 million in paying lobbyists and buying political attack ads. In 2020 it was $50 million. If you pay membership fees to the NRA, do you realize you are paying to keep the violence?
No civilian should own a military style rifle. Automatic and semi-automatic rifles are not made for target practice, they are made to kill many people in a short amount of time. If you think it is OK for you to own one because you don’t intend to kill anyone, others may have malicious intent. Giving them up is for the good of society as a whole.
This isn’t about your Second Amendment rights. When the Constitution was written, guns only fired once before needing reloading. This isn’t about hunting. You can hunt with a hunting rifle. This isn’t about your entertainment. Find another hobby so others can live.
There are more guns in the U.S. than people. The argument that the more guns you have, the safer you’ll be is statically incorrect. Imply limits on the number of pistols owned. Why does anyone need so many?
Say no to businesses that advertise weapons. Say no to NRA memberships. Willingly surrender your AR rifles. Write your senators and legislators. Support gun reform. It is time to say “Enough.”
Beth Ann Volk, Moorhead, is a former member of The Forum’s Readers Board.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum’s editorial board nor Forum ownership.
