I think the whole gun control issue is a stinking mess. I spent three years in the Marine Corps and I was an infantryman. On the streets today people carry more firepower than I did back then in the military where I had my M16 semi-automatic assault rifle. While I don't want government to take away our rights to bear arms do we need AK-47's in everyone's hands with magazines that can carry up to 30 rounds of ammunition?  I don't think so. I agree with the author of this piece in that background checks are critical to calming down gun violence.

It also appears to me that there is a common thread of mental illness in most of the mass killings. If I recall back in the late 1990's we undid a lot of the mental illness care in the United States and I believe we need to correct that first and maybe then limit the types of assault rifles people are allowed and the size of the ammo clips that they may have. If theses weapons are for hunting you don't need 30 to 40 rounds of ammo in one clip. If theses weapons are for self defense the same logic holds true.

For a time in the 1990's I sat on the local township board. We had an issue with a local gun range that got out of control. We went to court over the regulations. A federal judge allowed the NRA to make a determination. I thought the township's ruling would hold up. When the NRA made their determination the township's position was tossed out and the gun range's position was upheld in its entirety  The NRA is a very powerful entity.

National gun control battle a 'culture war,' leader says

• By Jim Vertuno and Juan Lozano
• Associated Press
• 2 Comments

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum speaks Friday. “This is a critical time in American history,” he said. )

Houston — The National Rifle Association kicked off its annual convention Friday with a warning that its members are engaged in a "culture war" that stretches beyond gun rights, further ramping up emotions surrounding the gun control debate.

NRA First Vice President James Porter, who will take over the top job Monday, issued a full-throated challenge in the opening hours to President Barack Obama after the NRA's major victory on gun control and a call to dig in for a long fight that will stretch into the 2014 elections.

More than 70,000 NRA members are expected to attend the three-day convention amid the backdrop of the national debate over gun control and the defeat of a U.S. Senate bill introduced after December's mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.

Porter's remarks came in a short speech to about 300 people at a grass-roots organizing meeting and set the tone for a "Stand and Fight"-themed convention that is part gun trade show, political rally and strategy meeting.

"This is not a battle about gun rights," Porter said, calling it "a culture war."

Rob Heagy, a former parole officer from San Francisco, agreed with Porter's description of a culture war.

"It is a cultural fight on those ten guarantees," referencing the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. "Mr. Obama said he wasn't going after our guns. As soon as the Connecticut thing happened, he came after our guns."

That theme carried throughout the day and reached a crescendo in the afternoon political rally punctuated by fiery speeches from state and national conservative leaders.

"You stood up when freedom was under assault and you stood in the gap, you made a difference," former U.S. senator and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum told the cheering crowd of more than 3,500 at the political rally.

"This is a critical time in American history. Something big is happening in America," Santorum said. "Stand for America. Fight for America."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry criticized gun control supporters as opportunists who prey on the raw emotions of tragic events. "You can almost set your watch for how long it takes for people who hate guns, who hate gun owners, to start a new campaign," after a mass shooting, Perry said.

Obama, who has pushed for gun control measures, was a prime target for criticism. NRA Executive Director Chris Cox bragged about the organization's victory.

"It was great to see the president throw a temper tantrum in the Rose Garden," Cox said.

Gun control advocates were determined to have a presence outside the convention hall. Across the street Friday, the No More Names vigil read the names of gun violence victims since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

Erica Lafferty, whose mother, Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung, was killed by the gunman, was outside the building and said she hoped to talk to as many NRA members as she could.

"I am not against people owning guns. I am asking for safe and responsible gun ownership and gun laws. I don't understand where the problem is with background checks," Lafferty said.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130504/NATION/305040359#ixzz2SJXl0f5T