There is no reason for a private citizen to have an assault rifle. He can’t hunt with it; he can’t protect his home with it; and he can’t resist governmental oppression with it — the government has tanks, attack helicopters, stealth bombers, etc. The only hope with that is to keep the Armed Forces representative of the population and well-schooled in democratic values.
So there is no reason for an assault rifle to be available at all.
Sure, there should be better mental health screening and treatment and, sure, there should be better background checks. But there is still reason to restrict the weapon itself.
A crazy person with a knife can do some damage, but can do much more with an assault rifle.
So, to my way of thinking, if the public, through their representatives, permits a person to have an assault rifle and that person then shoots up a school with it, the public is partly responsible for those deaths.
Jonathan Cohen, Farmington
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