On banning assault rifles for crazy people

With the smoke clearing we hear that if the midnight show shooter in Aurora hadn’t have had an assault rifle, well, he probably would have found another way of killing a dozen people and wounding dozens more.

Still, the truth is the shooter chose the method he preferred, for whatever reasons. He chose the tools and plan that gave him the thrill and results he sought -- this self-styled Joker wanted the ability to paint the theater’s auditorium with bullets in a blink of the eye. He needed the courage that an assault rifle with a monster clip gave him. 

The assault rifle the shooter used is a tool no civilian should have the right to possess.

Hey, I’m not talking about banning handguns or sporting firearms. I’m talking about doing all we can to keep rapid-fire, long-range weapons designed for military use out of the hands of crazy people, including those who are in anti-government private militias.

And, shameless rightwing propagandists, please spare me the Second Amendment malarkey. Nothing in the Constitution says private citizens have the right to possess any weapon they might want to have.

So, I totally disagree with our elected leaders (and their flacks) who cash their regular checks from the National Rifle Association and repeat for their amoral mantra for all occasions: Now, I say now, isn't the time to renew the ban on assault rifles.

When I hear that guff it suggests to me that there should be a special place in hell for the politicians who know perfectly well assault rifles should be banned, but they are afraid to say so.

Look at it this way, I want to keep assault rifles out of the hands of crazy civilians. And, if you want to own an assault rifle, hey, that's enough to make you too crazy to own one in my book. 

This is precisely the right time to renew the ban on assault rifles. Yesterday would have been better.