Uvalde was such a horrible tragedy that the English language lacks the ability to describe it. It was absolutely awful and no one is going to deny that.
However, as is normal after any such tragedy, some people are trying to capitalize on that tragedy to force others to do things. They expect the world to stop and then fold around them.
That’s what drove activists to halt a Friends of the NRA dinner in Hondo, TX, after all.
But worse than that, though, they’re trying to tell a gun store in Uvalde what kind of guns it can sell.
A new petition online has 1,140 signatures demanding the Uvalde gun store where the Robb Elementary School shooter bought an assault-style rifle to stop selling the guns used to kill 19 students and two teachers on May 24. The petition was started by pediatrician Dr. Roy Guerrero, whose testimony on Capitol Hill revealed the damage those guns cause.
The petition on Change.org is directed toward Randy Kline, owner of Oasis Outback. It asks the gun store to “cease the sale of assault rifles and the ammunition paired with them.” It also asks Oasis Outback to discontinue gun transfers of assault-style rifles.
“Doing so will ensure that children across Uvalde County will never have to worry about a new purchase of this type of weapon,” the petition states.
OK, that’s it. I’m done for the day.
That last bit is, without a doubt, the dumbest thing I’m likely to read today. I know, I know, it’s the internet and there’s likely to be a new challenger, but look at the unmitigated stupidity on display.
Look, first of all, if Oasis Outback complied, people who wanted AR-15s or similar rifles would just find another store. All that will happen is Oasis Outback will lose not just that business, but likely a lot of additional business as well.
After all, these kinds of rifles are among the most popular firearms in the country. Not selling or transferring any of them is going to hurt.
Further, some who like that style of rifle will simply move all their business to a nearby competitor.
The petition has a goal of 1,500 signatures and supposedly gives Kline 30 days to respond. Of course, my response to that bit of information is, “Or what?” It’s a petition. It doesn’t have the force of law, nor should it.
Look, I get that people are still hurting. What happened in Uvalde was, as I said, beyond awful. What these jackwagons need to understand, though, is that it wasn’t the gun’s fault. It was the fault of a maniac who went on a rampage and a police department that didn’t have the cajones to act.
Why should Kline sacrifice his business to appease people who can’t place the blame squarely where it belongs?
The truth of the matter is that while the petition claims the signers support the Second Amendment, it’s pretty clear that they don’t even understand it. They genuinely want to do what they can to deny people the ability to buy a firearm they don’t approve of. That’s not how it works.
Now, granted, what they’re doing isn’t a call for gun control–not yet, anyway–and, as I already pointed out, people will still be able to get those particular weapons, but they’re still trying to blame the gun for the actions of someone biologically classified as a human.
So you’ll forgive me if I don’t take them at their word about being supportive of the Second Amendment. I get Uvalde folks are upset, but this isn’t how you do things.
