Bang! Bang! You're dead!

If the dead could speak, William and Faith Kinkelwould seek new gun laws and become the most
would describe how their 15-year old son Kipland shotanti-gun President in U.S. history. As reported in The
them dead in 1998 at their Springfield, OR, home - heOutdoor Wire, a sports on-line publication,
in the back of the head and she while climbing amanufacturers are months behind on orders for
stairway. The following day, Kip was armed with twosemi-automatic pistols, AR and AK rifles, and anything
pistols and a hunting knife but it was a Ruger .22with high-capacity magazines and that “buyers
semi-automatic rifle loaded with 50 rounds ofwe've surveyed across the country seem to have a
ammunition that killed two students and wounded 25single explanation for their rush to purchase firearms
at Thurston High School. – Obama.” 
In the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre, 18-yearThe hint of a revival of the 1994 Assault Weapons
old Eric Harris fired 96 times from a Hi-Point 995Ban, that expired in 2004, caused the average price
Carbine 9mm semi-automatic rifle with thirteenof AK-47s to double from $350 last September to
10-round magazines. Fellow terrorist Dylan Klebold, 17,more than $700. 
fired 55 shots from a 9mm Intratec Tec-9Kristen Rand, legislative director of the “Violence
semi-automatic handgun that in total carried one 52-,Policy Center” stated, “The 1994 law in
one 32-, and one 28-round magazine. They killed 12theory banned AK-47s, MAC-10s, UZIs, AR-15s and
students and a teacher.other assault weapons. Yet the gun industry easily
The 2007 Virginia Tech shootings by Seung-Hui Chofound ways around the law and most of these
killed 27 students and 5 instructors with the use ofweapons are now sold in post-ban models virtually
two semi-automatic handguns and an arsenal of 400identical to the guns Congress sought to ban in
rounds of ammunition. 1994.”
An AK-47 assault rifle converted to automatic causedSpeaker Nancy Pelosi recently gave a gun
the March 2006 death of 14-year old Starkesia Reedlobbyist’s simplistic view that the answer to gun
in Chicago; the following week, another stray bulletownership is “enforcing the laws we have
from a Tec-9 assault handgun killed 10-year oldnow.”
Siretha White. Private, unlicensed gun sales are currently exempt
An April 4th response to a call of domesticfrom federal background checks and sales retention
disturbance led to the death of three Pittsburghrequirements, such as purchases at gun shows, some
police officers by an AK-47 assault rifle used byof which are (conveniently?) attributed to robberies
Richard Poplawskia. of homes, cars or dealer stores.
On April 9, three stray bullets from more than 50Surprisingly, only seven states and the District of
rounds fired from two AR-15 semi-automatic riflesColumbia require gun owners to report their guns lost
killed 8-year old Paris Whitehead-Hamilton. St.or stolen – another reason for the need of
Petersburg police Chief Chuck Harmonnational standards. 
said, ”Assault weapons are good for oneBy some counts, of an estimated 300M guns in the
purpose only, and that’s to kill other humanU.S., there are close to 4 million assault weapons. The
beings. They don’t belong on any city street innumber of undocumented gun owners and their
America.”unregistered guns in this country may surpass the
"It's almost like we have water pistols going upnumbers of undocumented immigrant workers. All of
against these high-powered rifles," said John Rivera,the above infringe upon the rights of law-abiding
president of the Dade County Police BenevolentAmericans.
Association. "Our weaponry and our bulletproof vestsLegislation that would require the licensing and
don't match up to any of those types oftracking data of all gun sales would make living in
weapons.” America much safer. The wording doesn’t have
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida R.to infringe upon “the right of the people to bear
Alexander Acosta stated, “These bullets areArms.”
very powerful: they go through walls, they goGuns don’t kill people. People kill people. People
through cars, and if you just spray the generalwith guns kill people. People with semi-automatic guns
vicinity you’re going to get innocent bystanders.kill a lot more people. Guns with multi-round magazine
A shooting that might have been an injury previouslyattachments are not defense weapons. They are
is now a death.” assault weapons.
Gun rights expert David Kopel suggested Obama