This time 3 were killed, one a policeman, and 12 were wounded, 4 being police officers as gunfire erupted before the gunman finally surrendered.  So far there have been 294 mass shootings this year.  Most were not considered sensational enough to report nationally.  We lead the world in mass shootings.

All mass shootings and killing should go under the category of Domestic Terrorism because that is exactly what they are, largely the indiscriminate killing of many people.  There have been 294 cases of Domestic Terrorism in the US this year and no Foreign Terrorist action in more than 10 years.  So why are we so paranoid about Foreign Terrorism when we have many real and active terrorists in our back yards?  There are still many in the media and public that simply call these acts of terrorism mass shootings.  Does this distinction mean that it is a Terrorist act if people are killed en mass by a foreign person or group but a Mass Shooting if done by a domestic person or group?  I feel that from a victim’s perspective there really is no difference.  Guns and bombs make no distinction of a perpetrator’s or victim’s race or national origin.

I feel that Domestic Terrorism is becoming an expected way of life like car fatalities.  This latest indecent just days ago is hardly in the news any longer.  Life for most simply goes on as life ended for 3 and remains broken for those directly affected.  As a nation we are becoming numb to Domestic Terrorism and stay focused upon Foreign Terrorism because of its rarity.  We focus on stopping Syrian refugees from coming to this country even in the absence of Foreign Terrorism here but do little in terms of gun control or other actions that will stop Domestic Terrorism that occur with increasing regularity.  What kind of logic is that?

There is little we can do to stop the manufacture of bombs because they can largely made of easily obtainable materials but there are things that can be done to reduce the number of guns available to Domestic Terrorist.  It is guns that kill by far most people.  There is no reason for assault weapons to exist at all in the public.  They are inappropriate for target practice and awkward to use for self defense.  They are designed as attack weapons.  Their very name emphasizes such use.  They are designed to fire rounds of ammunition with great rapidity for the expressed purpose of killing efficiently.  They are designed with large magazines which can be changed in seconds to continue firing deadly and sustained barrages of bullets to kill as many people as bullets allow.  That is why they are extensively used by militaries throughout the world with great effect.

There are many other things that can make it more difficult for Domestic Terrorist to carry out their mission of death and destruction.  Many of these ideas can also apply for the other 30,000 lives and numerous more lives that are injured and destroyed by guns every year in the United States.  We have the highest rate of gun violence and Domestic Terrorism in the world of countries which are not in a state of war or revolution.  We are the only nation to make gun ownership a Constitutional Right.  So what is wrong with us for allowing gun violence to become a tolerated way of life and death in this country?  What would you think of this country’s gun fatalities and of our gun ownership laws if you lived in another country in Europe not at war or in a state of revolution?