The Terrorists Within: Americans are Dying

   Americans are dying. Our children are being gunned down in school.

Movie goers now worry that the shots fired are not confined to the movie, but are assault weapons being fired at them as they enjoy their popcorn.

We are not safe in our places of worship, shopping malls, grocery stores, colleges, or even our elementary schools.
American citizens are paying attention. We want to be safe and secure as we go about our ordinary days. We condemn any country that would supply weapons to terrorists, but we approve the sale of assault weapons to terrorists within our borders.
The amazing thing is that the majority of Americans favor significant restrictions on the sale of weapons and ammunition. Recent surveys found that:
1. 89% of people favor universal background checks on people buying guns and ammunition.
2. 69% of people favor a complete ban on the sale of military style assault weapons.
3. 68% of people favor a ban on high capacity ammunition clips.
4. Over 80% of people favor banning the purchase of guns by people considered to be “HIGH RISK” and those who have violated restraining orders relating to domestic violence.
5. 61% of people favor more screening and treatment of the mentally ill to help prevent gun violence.
6. 66% of people don’t want to live near anyone with a serious mental illness.
7. 31,000 people every year are murdered in the United States, which is 20 times greater than the average in other developed countries.
In spite of the overwhelming support for a ban on assault weapons, it appears that Congress will not approve such a ban. Why you ask? How could Congress justify not representing the will of the people? The answer is that they are representing not their constituents, but the people who provide financial support for their re-election efforts. During the period between 2001 and 2010 the NRA spent between $1.5 and $2.7 million dollars per year on federal lobbying efforts. Yet during the 2010 election cycle the NRA spent more than $7.2 million dollars on political campaigns.
In 2010 terrorists killed 13,186 people worldwide. In 2010 31,672 people were killed in the United States alone in gun-related deaths. Our government has spent more than half a trillion dollars on homeland security since the September 11,, 2001 attacks, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but there has been virtually nothing spent on deterrence of gun violence.
When I pass through airport security

 

    they confiscate shampoo and moisturizer if they exceed 3.4 oz.

Yet James Holmes was able to purchase four guns and more than 6000 rounds of ammunition , legally, during a 60 day period before the Aurora shooting.

With those second amendment rights he was able to discharge 50-60 bullets that could kill 50-60 people in the span of one minute. The terrorists within the borders of our country are more frightening, and more deadly than those who live thousands of miles away. Soldiers are being killed daily in Afghanistan and Iraq, but our children are being killed at home. It’s a tragedy when a soldier loses his/her life. It is a catastrophe when American children are not safe to go to school, the shopping malls, the movies, or the grocery store!