By Shawn Reilly
Virginia Tech, Gabby Giffords in Tucson, Aurora, Colorado and now Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
The names and places are linked by tragedy, death and semi-automatic handguns.
The young men who carried out these mass shootings all counted at least one versatile, easy-to-fire pistol in their arsenals.
The gunman in Oak Creek, 40-year-old neo-Nazi Wade Michael Page, had much in common with other recent mass shooters.
Page used a semiautomatic firearm with high-capacity ammunition magazines. And he was able to purchase his guns and ammo legally despite a personal history replete with red flags.
He had a criminal history. Most importantly, Page had been publicly involved in the White Power movement since 2000. He was known to both federal and local law enforcement authorities.
In Aurora, James Holmes carried a .40-caliber Glock along with a shotgun and an AR-15 assault rifle into a movie theater where he killed 12 people and wounded 58 more in about 2 minutes.
The Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol that Jared Loughner used in his murderous rampage in Tucson, Ariz., is, according to Glock’s website, “ideal for versatile use through reduced dimensions” and “is suitable for concealed carry.”
The Glock site continues: “Compact and subcompact GLOCK pistol model magazines can be loaded with a convincing number of rounds,” from the standard 15 up to 33.
At the Virginia Tech massacre Seung-Hui Cho used the Glock 19 to shoot and kill 32 people and wound 17 others.
All of these shooters were able to kill and wound to the extent they did because they had the semi-automatic, concealed weapon.
In the wake of Oak Creek, Aurora, Tucson, and Virginia Tech shootings, amid calls for bipartisanship and civility, now is the time for Democrats and Republican to join together to pass a permanent ban on assault weapons, and make us all safer.
About Shawn Reilly: Shawn Reilly is co-founder of Say No To Bridge Tolls.
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Guest blogger Shawn Reilly: ‘Now is the time for Democrats and Republicans to unite on assault weapons legislation’
Virginia Tech, Gabby Giffords in Tucson, Aurora, Colorado and now Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
The names and places are linked by tragedy, death and semi-automatic handguns.
The young men who carried out these mass shootings all counted at least one versatile, easy-to-fire pistol in their arsenals.
The gunman in Oak Creek, 40-year-old neo-Nazi Wade Michael Page, had much in common with other recent mass shooters.
Page used a semiautomatic firearm with high-capacity ammunition magazines. And he was able to purchase his guns and ammo legally despite a personal history replete with red flags.
He had a criminal history. Most importantly, Page had been publicly involved in the White Power movement since 2000. He was known to both federal and local law enforcement authorities.
In Aurora, James Holmes carried a .40-caliber Glock along with a shotgun and an AR-15 assault rifle into a movie theater where he killed 12 people and wounded 58 more in about 2 minutes.
The Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol that Jared Loughner used in his murderous rampage in Tucson, Ariz., is, according to Glock’s website, “ideal for versatile use through reduced dimensions” and “is suitable for concealed carry.”
The Glock site continues: “Compact and subcompact GLOCK pistol model magazines can be loaded with a convincing number of rounds,” from the standard 15 up to 33.
At the Virginia Tech massacre Seung-Hui Cho used the Glock 19 to shoot and kill 32 people and wound 17 others.
All of these shooters were able to kill and wound to the extent they did because they had the semi-automatic, concealed weapon.
In the wake of Oak Creek, Aurora, Tucson, and Virginia Tech shootings, amid calls for bipartisanship and civility, now is the time for Democrats and Republican to join together to pass a permanent ban on assault weapons, and make us all safer.
About Shawn Reilly: Shawn Reilly is co-founder of Say No To Bridge Tolls.