Serving the Towns of Wawarsing, Crawford, Mamakating, Rochester and Shawangunk, and everything in between
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Opinion
It's Time For A Serious Approach To Guns In The U.S.

The Republicans, Democrats, and the NRA have all done the American Public a disservice. Pointing fingers and calling names like school yard bullies is no way to find solution to the problems at hand. By some accounts there are roughly 300,000,000 legally owned guns in this country. Some say that there are twice that many illegally owned guns in this country. That is a lot of fire power. So far the government is only addressing the legally owned guns with their call for more regulation. We have tons of laws on the books that are not enforced, including the vaunted SAFE ACT. If that act was enforced we would need new prisons to hold all the people in violation. Meanwhile, in towns close to home, local cops do "gun strolls" walking up and down the streets looking for hidden guns. There are so many illegal guns on the street that criminals abandon them in shrub rows and trash bins.

Legal gun owners and the NRA are criminally negligent in their failure to educate each generation on the proper use of a gun, on the proper way to make a gun safe, and on the proper maintenance of guns. The 2nd Amendment is a right and with it comes a responsibility. Proper gun safety and use of firearms used to be routinely passed from one generation to another. For time immemorial, parents have taught their children the proper use of tools; be they silverware, screwdrivers, or firearms. Guns were the tools needed to feed the family and protect the home. But as the need to provide food for the table disappeared, so did the necessity of owning firearms. As more homes became "gun-free" zones, this generational transfer of skill and knowledge was lost. Today you learn about guns on TV, computer games, and — sadly — on the news. And most of that information is full of errors. For instance, "semi-automatic" means for each pull of the trigger one and only one bullet is fired. Some examples of semi automatics are an AR-15 rifle or a Glock 17 9mm pistol. Fully automatic guns have been illegal in this country since 1934. An example of full auto would be a tommy-gun from the era of Baby Face Nelson or a belt fed machine gun.

If the 2nd amendment is going to stay intact then Americans need to teach our youth about the tool that is a gun. NO high school senior should graduate without understanding the safe and basic use of firearms. Then they can make an informed decision about whether to own one or not.

If Congress and the President were serious about guns they would throw money at the problem because that is what our leaders do. They should institute a federal buy-back program just like they did when they bought junk cars. $500 per every AR 15 would take a lot of guns off the streets. Plus I want to know how they plan to remove all the illegal guns from our street because it makes no sense for law abiding citizens to get rid of their weapons when criminals can easily access firearms on the street. Because like it or not law enforcement is minutes away when seconds count...

Cassie S. Spoor ran for the Ellenville School Board this past spring.



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