I have a news flash for Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who believes that lawmakers should not make a “knee-jerk reaction before having all the facts,” and therefore should refrain from any efforts related to the recent Florida shooting.
Through almost no research, I discovered the following facts: In 1989, five people were killed and 32 wounded when they were shot in Stockton, Calif., at the Cleveland school with a semi-automatic AK-47. In 1991, at Luby’s cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, 23 were killed and 27 wounded with a semi-automatic Glock 9mm pistol and a semi-automatic Ruger 9mm pistol. In 1993, in San Francisco, eight people were killed and six wounded with a TEC 9 semi-automatic with a 20-round magazine and a modified trigger that allowed full-automatic rate of fire.
These shootings, as well as other mass firearm killings, encouraged lawmakers to pass the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban almost 24 years ago.
I am here to tell you, Mr. Speaker, there is more than enough information available to start dealing with the merchants of death who call themselves the NRA.
Gil Williams, Midway