Assault rifles are weapons of mass destruction

Assault rifles are not worth innocent lives

Opinion echos- Two letters published in The Jackson Sun - Tennessee 

LEXINGTON- I’m 72 years old, having owned guns since I was 12; I raised my sons with a gun in one hand and a rod and reel in the other. Yes, I own an assault rifle.

My right to own that AK47 is not worth the life of one young innocent student. We must stop the mass slaughter of our people. We all need prayer; however, thoughts and prayers cannot stop the mass shootings nor can it bring back young lives. Gun owners must speak out — something must be done.

We gun owners must support the necessary laws to stop the mass killing of our youth, and others. Personally, I haven’t any objection to giving up the right to own assault rifles, but that doesn’t resonate with all gun owners, so somehow we must reach middle ground.

Let’s start by implementing the following restrictions concerning assault weapons:

1. Minimum age to own: 30

2. $200 background check fee

3. 30-day waiting period to give adequate background check

4. Any prior arrest, mental problems prohibits ownership.

5. Strict regulations as to storage, possession.

6. All sales, transfers, trades, possessions subject to these regulations.

7. Conviction of any crime forfeits ownership rights.

We gun owners must be willing to do our part to protect our schools and society. Our young students deserve the right to attend school without the fear of being killed, while seeking their education; America owes them that.

Bobby Cogdell  Lexington  Tennessee

School shootings: Who’s to blame?

School shootings: Who’s to blame?

JACKSON- I am a 70-something man and have been teaching at Jackson State Community College for the past few years. I retired this semester. One of the things I never could get used to were the active shooter drills. I had never seen anything like that in my years working in the defense industry, and my children had never seen this happen until they were school teachers.

I have grandchildren who are required to now have the drills, and my four great-grandchildren will have to have these drills.

Everyone is trying to figure out who to blame for these mass shootings. People say it is just the way the world is today. Who is responsible for the state of the world today and these mass shootings? Look in the mirror. All of us who have watched this epidemic and done nothing are to blame.

The students in Florida are correct, we adults have done nothing to stop this epidemic, and it is obvious that our federal and state legislators will “offer their prayers and condolences” and then go back to business as usual. I wonder what they would do if one of their children or grandchildren were killed at their school. We all need to look in the mirror and decide what we can do to keep our children safe.

James Marple  Jackson Tennessee

MaineWriter - Assault rifles are weapons of mass destruction and must be licensed. Moreover, the ammunition required to fire the assault weapons must be regulated and highly taxed.