Ban assault rifles now!

Dear friends in facebook,

Almost 60 people watching a concert were just massacred by a man firing a machine gun, sniper style from a nearby hotel.

I’m hurting for Las Vegas, and I’m outraged.

Outraged because the shooting was senseless but not unpredictable: almost anyone in the US can buy a military-style assault rifle and high powered ammunition over the counter.

Outraged because Trump and Republicans in Congress talk tough on terrorism abroad,
but say little about domestic terrorism, while one of the easiest things we can do to stop
arming terrorists on US soil is ban deadly weapons of war for civilians. Enough!
Send a letter to the Congress: ban assault rifles now!

To the United States Congress:

Ban weapons of war for civilians: ban all assault weapons and high-calibre ammunition
now!

Nevada is a heavily armed state and has some of the loosest gun laws in the country. It’s
clear that more guns just means more killing.

The only other countries where this kind of carnage regularly happens are countries at
war, or developing nations where warring drug cartels are fighting over pieces of territory.

In no other civilized country on the planet can just about anybody over the age of 18
walk into a gun store and amass an arsenal of high calibre assault rifles and armor
piercing bullets, designed for military use to spray bullets everywhere and maximize the
number of people they kill.

How long do we compete for the “deadliest mass shooting in US history” label, when the
benchmark of death and destruction rises higher and higher every time? After Columbine they did nothing. After Virginia Tech they did nothing. After Sandy Hook they did nothing. After Orlando they did nothing.

Nothing is no longer an option. We can’t let them get away with it again — and we won’t,
if we rise up and make more noise than ever before.

Send a letter to the Congress: ban assault rifles now!

For decades, gun control has been used to drive Americans apart and stop common-sense legislative solutions to protect us from this kind of carnage. This massacre could be a turning point, but only if we make more noise then ever before.

With hope and determination,

Luis Bravo

More information:

Las Vegas shooting: death toll rises to 58 as police name suspect (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2017/oct/02/las-vegas-two-dead-in-
mandalay-bay-casino-shoot…

Las Vegas gun laws: Open carry, concealed weapon, machine guns all legal in Nevada
(Newsweek)
http://www.newsweek.com/las-vegas-gun-laws-open-carry-concealed-weapon-machine-
guns-all-legal-nevada…

How to Prevent Gun Deaths? Where Experts and the Public Agree (NYT)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/10/upshot/How-to-Prevent-Gun-Deaths-
The-Views-of-Experts…