I have been following the stories in the paper surrounding the attempts to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, as well as the massacres that inspired the attempts.

It seems to me that the stories of these shootings pop up even in unrelated stories. The media, in my opinion, are running a fear campaign against assault weapons rather than remembering the victims or even trying to fix the problem.

These massacres are tragic and never to be forgotten, but banning assault rifles won’t help. I believe the saying, “If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.”

The government doesn’t want guns banned to prevent crime. They want to take away our ability to fight back against martial law.

Some of us are still Americans and the blood of the patriot still runs in our veins.

We don’t own AR-15, SKSs and AK47s with 30-plus round clips for hunting or to commit crimes. We own them not because we’re looking for a fight, but to answer the call when the wolf growls at the door. Thomas Jefferson said it time and time again in a dozen different ways.

If people want to prevent these horrific crimes then, yes definitely, background checks should be enforced. And we should stop making these animals famous, plastering their faces in the news no matter how crazy their hair is. We should remember the victims not the monsters.

Also, we should stop condemning police for using deadly force. We give them a badge for a reason.

Shayne Oliver

Skowhegan

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