Gun owners say that if society takes away their AR-15-style automatic weapons, next come rifles, handguns, knives and finally every last slingshot and peashooter in America.
I have read some history, and I find 2nd Amendment-type societies where every household was encouraged to have a sword or a musket at the ready. But never have I discovered a society where every household was allowed to have a loaded cannon in the bedroom.
I did read that soldiers returning to Russia from World War I were required to surrender their battlefield weapons to armories in and around the big cities. The communist trickster Vladimir Lenin raided those armories and made himself master of Russia. But is assault weapon legislation voted on by elected representatives of the people the same as a midnight coup d’état?
Using the domino logic of gun owners, we would never want to prevent or disarm any nation’s nuclear arsenal, because that would inevitably be followed by us taking away all remaining means of defense from them. Maybe sane people just don’t want unstable leaders like the ones in Iran to have their fingers on a nuclear trigger. That would be like average, flighty Americans having access to assault weapons, not too smart.
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
Polling
positions
Who is uninformed, misinformed, spinning which story? Many people — some appearing in this forum — seem confused about even what their own party stands for. So, answer the following questionnaire as honestly as possible. Some elaboration is offered on a few questions (actual laws are complex), but most require a simple yes or no on the proposition. Your answers may uncover surprising political preferences:
Should registering to vote be easy and voting readily accessible to everyone eligible?
Should the economy not take on the cost of deportation or the heavy loss of jobs it entails, but Dreamers should be allowed to stay in the only country they may ever have known? Should there be immediate, urgent bipartisan cooperation to work on immigration reform? The current chaos requires the best minds in government.
Does some forgiveness seem warranted for crushing student loans and the outrageous interest they generate? Under current law, the debt cannot be discharged or diminished even through bankruptcy.
Should state and federal governments better fund schools in a way that doesn’t overburden local home and business owners with ever-rising property taxes?
Should there be national uniformity in gun laws, particularly a ban on weapons of war such as the AK-17, used so often right here in Texas to such deadly effect?
Should the government have no business in the library, in the bedroom, in the examining room or on the surgical floor?
Should there be national, codified rules governing abortion, with exemptions for rape, incest, age, life or health of the mother? (Even adult women may not realize they are pregnant by Week six and not every dire circumstance shows up before Week 15.)
Should there be mandated, paid parental leave for newborns, the sick and the elderly?
Should Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act be expanded, and Social Security and veterans benefits kept intact or improved? They might be up for annual review and possible cuts, if not outright repeal, as soon as January.
Should already-passed laws forcing rich corporations to pay some share of taxes stay in place? The additional IRS agents hired to improve compliance are not armed with assault rifles battering down the doors of homes or businesses. If nothing else, audits of the middle class are rarely cost effective and the weapons CPAs wield tend to be only calculators and computers.
Should the U.S. be a beacon of democracy around the world, honor our treaties such as that with NATO, aid Ukraine and warn China and North Korea not to attack South Korea, Japan or Taiwan?
Do you still believe this is a nation of laws and no one is above the law — not even an ex-president?
How many of your answers are affirmative? You may have just discovered you are a Democrat! Maybe even Ms. Coronado. Many once-staunch Republicans are since Donald Trump. Few of the items above are endorsed by the GOP, especially the MAGA right.
V.L. Bunderson
Brownsville
