It’s time for a new phrase to enter the conversation on gun control: personal weapons of mass destruction.
One of the appeals of assault rifles is their ability to destroy. In a minute, anyone can destroy a target, junk car or an outhouse — or even “the next person who wants to mess with me.” It makes some people feel bigger, stronger, tougher than the next guy.
Personal weapons of mass destruction are not merely embellishments of the hunting rifle; they are designed to destroy multiple targets.
Sure, the signers of the Constitution believed in firearms for personal defense, as do I. Their firearms, however, had to be reloaded after each shot. Only armies and militias had the ability to fire cannon and volleys.
It is dishonest to use the argument that those men some 240 years ago could conceive of and consider the technology we have today.
We need to reject the paranoia of those who fear that reasonable restrictions on lethal technology, just as there are on other weapons of mass destruction, will lead to the disarming of all American citizens.
It is time to restrict the ownership of personal weapons of mass destruction. Text it, email it, tweet it, Facebook it, spread the word wherever you can.
Brad Sherwood
Waterville
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