6 September 2019 – Against the backdrop of the recent assault rifle massacres, we still have the NRA and some politicians insisting that having an assault rifle is somehow a ‘right’. Some of these people even claim it is a ‘god-given right’. Most of those who favour assault rifles in public hands have received donations for having such a stance: but how much do they actually understand of what an assault rifle does to a human body?
After assault weapon tragedies, we hear about the dead and what kind of people they were. We see photos of mourners and floral tributes. Many people in this group will fully understand what different kinds of rounds do to the human body, but the gory details of just how horrific being shot is get left out of the press coverage: it’s too horrifying for the public to digest. For instance after the Sandy Hook massacre, then Vice President Biden saw what happened, describing it as so horrific the American people would not be able to deal with it. Maybe the public and lawmakers need to spend time thinking about that horror.
It is time that everyone was made fully aware of the difference between a handgun wound and an assault rifle wound – especially those lawmakers who, like Texas Governor Abbott, and Texas Rep Matt Schaefer, think having such a weapon is a right. This action will ensure they can’t claim they were ignorant of the facts.
The image on the left shows a round entering a block of material simulating human tissues; in both a handgun or an assault rifle, the initial inch of an entry wound for both is the same – a straight path. A handgun round is likely to stay on that straight path.
If you are shot with a handgun, the velocity of the bullet is such that you may be ‘lucky’ – comparatively speaking – and get a wound that is a straight entry hole that can be treated. The excruciating pain, shock, trauma and blood loss and the mental and emotional impact of such an event cannot be underestimated, physically treatable or not.
If you are shot with a AR 15 or other assault rifle, things are far, far more deadly. For maybe an inch or so, the round makes a straightforward wound. Then, because of the nature of the weapon, the velocity of the round: the bullet will basically explode and create a cavity of destroyed, blasted, shredded tissue.
The image on the left (Vice News) shows that same block being exploded by an automatic rifle round; inside that ‘bubble’ from the explosive force of the round, tissue is being shredded and liquified.
As one expert on the subject puts it, a handgun wound victim is likely to make it to the hospital; the assault weapon victim is far less likely to survive that long, and is likely to have injuries that cannot be remedied. One radiologist who dealt with the aftermath of the Stoneman shooting told The Atlantic about one victim’s wounds, “Nothing was left to repair—and utterly, devastatingly, nothing could be done to fix the problem. The injury was fatal.”
Some of our lawmakers put the ‘right’, ‘god-given’ or not, for people to own this kind of weapon over the right of children to life and to a life without fear, without ‘live shooter’ drills. Children are being made to accept such things are ‘normal’, which has psychological impact and which also can desensitize some to the gun death epidemic.
I am not going to apologize for the graphic nature of this action or for the contents of this video – which should be shared with every lawmaker who refuses to support reasonable gun law reform. Here’s the link for the video; please do watch it if you haven’t already seen a video on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzagHPugEpo
ACTION:
Please contact your state governor through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking (and please feel free to contact Mitch McConnell – who is sitting on federal gun law bills; Texas Governor Abbott and Texas Rep Matt Schaefer too). This message is short enough for a tweet:
You must act to keep us safe from assault weapons: do you know a round from an assault rifle explodes in the body, liquifying tissues and organs? If you’re for this, I’m against you. Watch this video: no one needs an assault rifle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzagHPugEpo
Find your state governor here: https://www.usa.gov/state-governor
Mitch McConnell
(form) https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactform Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mitchmcconnell/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/senatemajldr
Governor Abbott
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TexansForAbbott/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX
Matt Schaeffer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattForTexas/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RepMattSchaefer
Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!