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| -Land of the Free |
| I bought an AR-15 in 7 minutes |
| 2016-11-08 |
| A liberal writer buys an AR. Hijinx ensue. That’s how long it took me to buy an AR-15, the type of semiautomatic rifle used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Seven minutes. From the moment I handed the salesperson my driver’s license to the moment I passed my background check. by Helen Ubiñas, Daily News Columnist @NotesFromHel It likely will take more time than that during the forthcoming round of vigils to respectfully read the names of the more than 100 people who were killed or injured. It takes very little time to fire sufficient number of rounds with a semiautomatic, assuming you have good aim and a lot of targets. It’s obscene. Horrifying. Maybe surprising to some – though it shouldn’t be, not at this point in our bloody, hate-filled history. You sure you're talking about the USA? If it wasn’t so easy to get a gun in this country, the 29-year-old gunman who went on a shooting rampage in a popular gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday wouldn’t have been able to buy the weapon he used to kill 49 people and injure 53. Don't forget to mention the gunman was a government contractor who already had a grounding in weaponry, and who subscribed to a religion that forbids homosexuality, and that he himself was a homosexual. If it wasn’t so easy to get a gun in this country, another gunman who came before him wouldn’t have been able to use the same kind of firearm to kill elementary-school children in Newtown, Conn. Adam Lanza was a psychopath who essentially stole the guns he used on those kids. If it wasn’t so appallingly easy to get a gun in this country, it wouldn’t be easy for the next gunman to deliver the kind of carnage that’s as much a part of this country as the American flag. Nice. And there will undoubtedly be a next one. No one can prevent murder by taking away firearms. We know that from a 100+ years of experience from republics as well as from autocratic societies. And no question there will be another mass shooting. The question remains, how are you going to stop it? By buying a firearm and bitching about it, or by buying a firearm and learning to use it properly and safely. This has been said, but bears repeating and repeating and repeating some more. If nothing changed after children – babies – were slaughtered inside their school, do any of us really believe anything will change following the deaths of people so many fear and loathe simply for trying to live their truths? Wut? The gunman was apparently enraged over seeing a same-sex couple kiss. Think about that. Love enraged him. Love made him kill. The gunman was himself homosexual. Think about that, yourself. But I try not to think about any of that as I drive over to the gun shop in Philadelphia. I need to come up with some plausible story, I think. What if I’m asked why, a day after this massacre, I want to buy the very type of gun used to slaughter people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Yes, when handling firearms and dealing with the purveyors of firearms, it is always best to come up with a good cover story. I consider my options: I’m a woman who wants a rifle for safety reasons? You're a psychopath with an agenda, as with every leftist/liberal in history. I’m a gun enthusiast with a soft spot for military-style rifles? One look, a few questions and a business owner can tell you know little about military rifles. I’m a card-carrying member of the NRA who is afraid the government will be coming for my guns? Did you "Give a Buck" when you bought your rifle? Turns out I don’t need a story. The AR-15 is on display in the window of the gun shop. It is being promoted as the gun of the week. A good business practice. What will it take to buy one, I ask the sales guy. Did I have identification? Yes. Was I a U.S. citizen? Yes. “Bingo,” the friendly gun shop sales guy said. “All we have to do is fill paperwork out.” I’ve filled out more paperwork at the doctor’s office for a routine checkup than I did Monday afternoon. Doesn't that invalidate the premise of this whole missive? I felt a little squeamish about not telling him who I was and what I was trying to do, but this wasn’t about them; they weren’t doing anything illegal. The truth is that I could have bought the gun as easily in any gun shop in Pennsylvania. I just didn’t realize how easily. Shorter: Likely she lied to the gun shop owner. Go to a licensed gun store. Fill out about a page and a half of forms. Wait (if that’s really the right word for it) for an instant background check, and then pay the man. I told the guy I was on a budget, so I got an AR-15 for $759.99. God bless America. You could have gone to Armslist and picked up a decent AR, used for around $550, no background checks, assuming the seller doesn't require one; usually less if he does. No need for a concealed carry permit. No mandatory training, though the guys did give me a coupon for a free day pass for a local gun range. No need for even a moment to at least consider how gross all of this felt as relatives of the dead were still being notified. To be fair, there was an extra 10 or 15 minutes or so of chitchat inside the gun store before I walked out with a cardboard box with the words Smith & Wesson emblazoned on it, and an atta-girl for thinking ahead and buying the most popular rifle in the country before there’s a run on the gun from nervous gun owners who fear a ban on them. There will be no "run" on ARs. There hasn't been despite numerous domestic terrorist and criminal small arms attacks since 2013. The data I compile on a weekly basis doesn't bear the fear out. The data does show that if you buy now, before Christmas, you'll get a slightly better price, but only slightly. “Yeah, because it was about the gun, not Islamic terrorism, right?” a man buying a gun offered, unsolicited. Here we go, I thought. The fact is, what shattered so many lives in the early hours Sunday was about many things. Homophobia, first and foremost. To repeat. The shooter was homosexual. He was a psycho with a gun and a mission. Radicalism – the American gunman claimed allegiance to the Islamic State and praised the Boston Marathon bombers. Even if that’s not true, the radicals won’t have a problem with that. Mental illness. And yes, guns. Insane, nonsensical access to guns. So pick whatever reason or narrative matches your politics or agenda. Have at it, because the truth is that while they all play a part, what’s really destroying this country is fear and hate. A festering fear and hate that we better think about when it’s time to vote for our next president, because the fear and hate is not all coming from the outside. It’s not all from some unnamed foreign bogeyman. Increasingly it’s from within, from down the street, the next state over, the next potential leader of this country. First thing she has gotten right in this article. As I walked to my car with my brand-new gun, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I didn’t want it, but I also didn’t want it in anyone else’s hands either. Easy to disable an AR. So I drove to the Philadelphia police’s Sixth District on 11th and Winter, where I seemed to stump more than a few officers when I explained who I was and what I wanted to do. Have you ever tried to turn in a gun in this city? Spoiler alert: It takes longer than it does to buy a gun. It should take longer. Kops don't want to be on the hook for an improperly transferred firearm anymore than you want the firearm. As an officer prepared the paperwork, I noticed a sign that hung over one of the walls. United We Stand, it read. My God, I thought, what a lie. We are more divided every single day, and yet our answer to that is to meet fear and hate with more fear and hate and then expect a different outcome. To be shocked at the world we live in, left to do little else but hold vigils. While I write this, thousands are attending a vigil at City Hall. My heart is with you all. But while we’re mourning the dead, let us mourn the national loss of humanity that is to blame for this world we have created. And let us take more than seven minutes to do it. Editor’s Note: This was revised to reflect that since original publication, the weapon used in the attack was identified as a Sig Sauer MCX, an AR-15 type semiautomatic rifle, but not an AR-15. Sig Sauer make a helluva rifle. Good choice. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #8 Good for her! A fine demonstration of free choice requiring registration, not blocked by prohibition. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2016-11-08 22:27 |
| #7 Too bad there wasn't a gun store in the gay nightclub. |
| Posted by: Claising Flavimble5530 2016-11-08 20:19 |
| #6 The time may come when she will find that rifle useful and be glad she bought it. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2016-11-08 16:37 |
| #5 So she wanted to see if she could buy the exact same gun, but did not research the weapon used, so she bought the wrong one - according to her thesis - and brought along someone to take her picture walking back to the car? 'Don't you know who I am?! I am getting this gun off the streets for you!' 'Ummmm...some lady people will make fun of half a year from now for spending a lot of money for creds to a poorly thought out and written editorial?' |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2016-11-08 11:55 |
| #4 If only MVD was so efficient. Well, given how far more deadly cars are versus guns, maybe not. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-11-08 10:19 |
| #3 This is reporters need added lie detectors to explode when they lie. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2016-11-08 09:59 |
| #2 Our state has instant background check through the TBI. It is tied into NICS. If you can prove who you are, have successfully completed ATF Form 4473 and nothing comes back from a computer check, you might be able to purchase an AR-15 in 7 minutes although I think that's pushing it. I've never been able to complete the process that quickly. The liberal writer is obviously trying to make a point as to how easy it is to purchase a firearm...and stretching the truth. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2016-11-08 08:57 |
| #1 The claim the jihadist was gay was part of the attempt to make it about anything but Islam -- and its since been discredited. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2016-11-08 06:20 |