The folks at NRA News send us their latest commentary from Billy Johnson who takes apart the argument that government can restrict our right to own the weapons of our choice without a clear reason;<\/p>\n
We are being asked to agree to legislation that restricts our Constitutionally protected rights. The burden of proving need doesn\u2019t fall on us; it falls on the government to justify that restriction. Historically, Americans have enacted legislation that restricts their rights because of the perception it will make them safer or more secure. Now I\u2019m not saying I think that\u2019s okay, but if we use history as our guide, the data has to support the assertion that restricting this right in this way will make us significantly safer.<\/p>\n
According to the recently released 2012 FBI crime stats, last year there were 12,765 murders. Of those, 322 used a rifle. The data doesn\u2019t differentiate between semi-automatic and bolt action rifles. Still, rifles were used in only 2.5 percent of all murders last year. We are being asked to restrict access to semi-automatic rifles in order to prevent their use in less than 2.5 percent of all murders. That\u2019s irrational and is a result of the media and our politicians engaging in inflammatory rhetoric that is meant to instill an overinflated fear of semi-automatic rifles in Americans. Restricting our access to semi-automatic rifles will not make a statistically significant impact on our safety and security.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n