Terrorism

Terrorism is not limited to act committed by al Qaeda or the Taliban.  In the United States, far more people and far more families are affected by domestic terrorists using guns and automobiles to kill and maim citizens.  Each year ten times more citizens die from gunshots and car accidents that from foreign terrorists.  In spite of this, funds to protect citizens from other citizens with evil intentions are being cut. Americans need to understand that someone killed by a citizen with a gun or a drunk driver behind the wheel of a car is just as dead as if killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan or by a plane being crashed into a New York City building.  The reality is one is far more likely to be killed making a withdrawal from an urban ATM on a dark night in a bad neighborhood than from a terrorist sneaking a bomb onto a train or airplane.  Homeland security needs to do more than just screen people boarding airplanes.  As we have sadly learned from what happened in Connecticut this week, people entering schools need to be screened as well.  The NRA will most likely point out that the guns used in the Connecticut shooting were all purchased legally.  These guns were not bought at a gun show where there was no background check.  The NRA lobbyists will probably also point out that the Connecticut gunman was actually prevented from buying a gun from a local retailer for one reason or another.  The NRA will also point out that people should be able to purchase guns for their own protection as were the guns used in the Sandy Hook shootings but neglect to mention that the legally purchased guns by a legal owner were used by someone unable to pass a background check to first kill the original owner before being used by the killer to murder innocent school children and innocent school personell.  This, however, ignores the real problem which is that there are too many guns available to too many people who should not have them in their possession.  The death of a young man whose crime was being in a car with a loud radio was at the hand of an individual who had legally possessed the killing weapon and who had legally had a permit to cary that weapon.  There are far too many guns and far too many people lacking competence to possess those guns.  Guns have but one purpose and that is to kill.  It is time to recognize that fact and take action accordingly.  Perhaps some of the $700 billion dollars used to arm and equip our military to protect us from terrorists in other countries can be diverted in some manner to protect us from the domestic terrorists who have succeeded in killing far more Americans than all other enemies with whom American has gone to war.  In a recent post that was circulating on the Internet, someone wrote that if we can inconvenience everyone boarding an airplane to remove shoes because of an unsuccessful attempt by an individual to bomb an airplane, surely we can ask owners of firearms to be slightly inconvenienced by having to demonstrate they are responsible and capable of owning a dangerous weapon.