Dear editor,
At this time it is heated as it should be regarding all school shootings but political presidential insults never happened when Obama was in office during past school shooting.
Now I will actually state something that won't be popular but regardless the truth wasn't meant to be popular at times.
A true assault weapon (M16) has three shot settings: single shot, three round burst, and automatic. An AR15 is always a single shot automatic reload if unaltered. A bump stock does not alter the gun but uses the gun's reaction to alter the gun's shooting mode to an automatic style.
Should bump stocks be legal? Only fully automatic licensed gun owners should have them.
The subject is mass school shootings. Which have killed more students, look-alike assault rifles or hand guns?
The Virginia Tech shooting claimed 33 lives involving two pistols, a Glock 19 with standard 15 rounds, 33 rounds optional, and a Walther P22 with 10 rounds.
The AR15 has clips available holding 10 to as many as 100 rounds.
The argument being made is not whether students can be killed but how many we are comfortable with that can be killed. I would think one would be one too many.
There are no guarantees with anything that is done. However, taking down the killer before he can reach the students is the best option and in reality maybe the only option for schools.
What about bus stops or the bus itself? We protect our Presidents and they have been shot and killed.
Now from a constitutional standpoint "a well regulated militia" is not talking about the civilian's type of guns which the civilians provide but they’re training for battle if and when we are invaded and they are needed.
With our military's defunding by political groups, the civilian "Militia" becomes ever more important for our nation's defense. And I will bet any reader that the thought "I am so glad I don't have a gun" never entered the mind of any teacher, any student, any victim, any civilian, or our military who might be on a future battlefield of any type.
STEVEN KING
Milton
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This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: LETTER: The Reality of Self Defense