Out: "Gun show loophole"; In: "Gun Trafficking"

Norma J. Torres, a Californian congress-critter transplanted from Guatemala, is calling for a new "assault weapons" ban ... and some extras. From an op-ed she penned for The Huffington Post: 

       ... When the Second Amendment was written, people weren’t using semi-automatic weapons that when modified, could fire off 10 rounds per second. ...

They could own cannons and explosives and all sorts of military arms. And no one even thought about restricting ownership of automatic weapons until decades after they were invented and sold to the public.

... We can all agree that we can protect the right of every individual to defend his or her family and uphold our nation’s proud traditions of hunting and sport shooting while also protecting the rights of everyday citizens to feel safe. 

No, we can't agree. Especially because Torres bases her argument on a non-existent right "to feel safe." (At least, it is non-existent in the special snow flake manner that Torres means). You know, I would feel a whole lot safer if Torres was deported. What about my right to feel safe?

         Think about it: No other country in the world endures one tragic mass shooting after another. Like the students at the Parkland, Florida, massacre and across the nation, I refuse to accept that these horrific murders are inevitable. We can act to change this, and we must. 

I've thought about it, and researched it, and the U.S. is way down the list when it comes to the incidence of murder, even including the endemic crime of the urban slums. Torres' home country of Guatemala has laws just as or more restrictive than what Torres' wants, but Guatemala isn't exactly a crime-free paradise.  In fact, it comes in at No. 10 for intentional homicides according to one list. (See also this article from In Sight Crime). So, given that there is a homicide there every 90 minutes, I would say that Guatemala endures much worse.

         So, what should we do? For starters, we should make sure that no one can buy a gun without a background check, whether it is at a store or a gun show or on the internet. And we need to help law enforcement crack down on the black market by identifying patterns of firearm purchases — patterns that often lead to gun traffickers.

Here we are--the transition from "gun show loophole" to "trafficking." 

         Right now, if someone walks into a store and buys three AR-15s, there is no requirement to report that to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. I have introduced commonsense legislation to make it so that such multiple purchases are reported. Also — this is hard to believe — gun trafficking is currently not a federal crime, which makes it much more difficult to go after criminals who sell guns on the black market. I have introduced a bill that would change that, too.

If she cared so deeply about our safety, she wouldn't be trying to restrict our means of self-defense.