Obama Intensifies Crusade against Assault Weapons: Must Protect America from Homegrown Terrorism
Being tough on terrorism -- particularly the sorts of homegrown terrorism that we've seen now in Orlando and San Bernardino -- means making it harder for people who want to kill Americans to get their hands on assault weapons that are capable of killing dozens of innocents as quickly as possible.
US President Barack Obama's words on Saturday's radio address were filled with more passion as he intensifies his crusade against assault weapons.
The recent Orlando shooting is considered as the country's deadliest mass shooting in history, where 49 club-goers were killed by a gunman who had sworn allegiance to the terrorist group ISIS. The gunman, Omar Mateen, used a pistol and an assault rifle in the indiscriminate shooting that left 49 dead and 53 wounded.
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The San Bernardino terrorist attack in 2015, carried out by a married couple, has also left behind a wound in the hearts of many Americans so deep that the president himself continues to be haunted by grief.
And among these senseless tragedies was a mass shooting of very young children in 2012. Connecticut and the entire nation were shocked when 20-year-old Adam Lanza used a semi-automatic rifle in killing 20 children and 6 teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The Obama administration has since then been pushing for tighter gun control that included a ban on assault weapons.
However, the efforts of the Democrats on the assault weapons ban had failed. The Republicans opposed the "NoFly, No Buy" Gun Bill last December, since no-fly lists do not constitute as an evidence of connection with terrorists.
Obama opted to issue an executive order on tighter gun control, out of hope that it could make a degree of difference.
But, after the Orlando nightclub shooting, Americans are debating again on the need for a more stringent measure to prevent such human tragedies. The Democrats are once again pushing for the No-Fly, No-Buy Bill, but they would need the support of the GOPs and the National Rifle Association. No one could tell what would be the fate of this struggle at this point. This regardless of the fact that in the past 50 years, there have been 126 occurrences of mass shooting in the US with 4 to 7 persons dying from the gun assault. The oldest victim on record was 98-yearold Louise De Kler who was shot at a nursing home in Carthage, North Carolina. The youngest was 8-month-old Carlos Reyes who died with his mother when she tried to save him from the bullets of a killer who carried automatic pistol, an Uzi, and a shotgun for the massacre.
What is certain about all this is the grief of the bereaved families.
In Newtown, Connecticut, a small monument that's been called Angel of Hope was built in memory of the Sandy Hook victims at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. Another small memorial was placed at the St. John's Episcopal Church. It's been several years, but families would still come to bring flowers, poetry, and other things their kids would have loved. There were those lone figures who would even come at night. The songs and poetry reflect their eternal affection -- how much they still love, and how much they still ache.
