Rick Notkin: Media shouldn’t give mass shootings the recognition that they desire

Dear Laconia Daily Sun,

I was going to wait after Uvalde. Unfortunately, the cabal of politicians, pundits, and entertainers couldn’t wait to share their complete ignorance about firearms and gun laws.

The first self-loading (aka semi-automatic) firearm was invented about 130 years ago. Not a new thing.

Why is a semi-auto rifle in the hands of a criminal called an “assault weapon” but is called a patrol rifle in the hands of an officer?

Why are there new calls for background checks for firearm purchases when the Uvalde killer underwent checks when he bought both rifles?

Why do we listen to President Joe Biden’s fabricated story about .22 and 9mm bullets? A 9mm bullet, the caliber carried by the vast majority of police officers, won’t "blow out any lungs”.

Why are there calls for banning AR-type rifles when the SCOTUS’ Heller decision clearly forbade banning firearms in common use?

Biden: “Nothing — nothing I’m about to recommend in any way impinges on the Second Amendment.” How does that jibe with shall not be infringed. He also frequently says that historically, citizens weren’t allowed to own cannons. Patently untrue.

At Uvalde, one of the failures was that the on-scene officers waited outside. They also prevented parents from attempting to rescue their children. And yet, we are constantly told that we citizens don’t need guns — the police will protect us. (I do believe that our local police will make every effort to help even though they have no legal obligation to do so.)

Did you hear about a woman with a handgun who stopped an assailant with a rifle who was shooting at people at a West Virginia party? I’ll bet that you didn’t.

Has anyone considered that these spree killers usually refer to previous mass shootings as inspiration? Perhaps the media shouldn’t give them the recognition that they desire.

Rick Notkin

Gilford