This is not another of the thousands of stories offering facts and assumptions about the tragedy in San Bernardino yesterday. I will only say that I join the world in mourning the loss of innocent men and women, and send my love and best wishes to their families.

This is about common sense, and a statement about the perpetrators of mass murder.

Whether it is a jihadist, a mentally ill young man at a Connecticut elementary school, a deranged young man at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, a neo-Nazi shooting worshipers in a South Carolina church, or a weak-minded and brainwashed man attacking a Planned Parenthood clinic, the one thing they all have in common is that they are cowards. They are not fighting for principle against an equally armed foe, they are killing because they can. They don’t attack police stations, heavily armed government institutions, or military bases where they would confront force with force, they slaughter innocents because they are easy targets, and they have no compassion for humanity, attacking them under false pretenses.

Americans have been coerced into a constant state of fear that a terrorist attack will once again occur within our shores. The truth is that more than 30 deaths occur each day in the United States at the hands of our own citizens with the use of a gun. Our own people are more of a danger to everyday citizens than terrorists. Cowards use guns; they are used to kill others without personal contact or concern for the results of their actions. Mass killings have become ‘normal’ in our nation; we have had more multiple shootings in the United States this year than days on our calendar, and the fact is that they don’t occur in this manner anywhere else in the world.

Americans have been told to fear ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other jihadist groups. Some of our politicians maintain that all followers of Islam are evil and want to destroy the American people. These terrorist groups are not true followers of Muhammad. Jihad is defined as; “an often ​violent ​effort by some ​Muslim ​people to ​defend ​their ​religion against those who they ​believe ​want to ​destroy it.” This does not define the cowardly attacks in Paris. Those killed by men wielding automatic weapons cannot be defined as individuals seeking to destroy Islam. They are not fighting a war, they are simply killers. These were individuals who planned an attack on innocent men, women, and children who were simply living a normal life and because they were easy targets.

We must not allow ourselves to be trapped in the rhetoric of hatred; if we do the terrorists can claim victory.

Now for the part which will incite anger in some who fail to use common sense and intellect. Our gun laws must be altered for the safety of the majority, and discount the special interests represented by the NRA gun lobby. In every single case of mass murder within our nation which I previously mentioned, assault rifles with high-output magazines have been the most frequent choice of the perpetrators. Even more unnerving is the fact that these military weapons were all purchased legally.

An even more frightening fact concerns anti-terrorism measures which have a severe flaw. Today more than 20,000 individuals are on the federal government’s ‘watch list.’ Many of them are not allowed on commercial aircraft, but all of them can legally purchase any type of firearm at any time they choose.

While the right wing is screaming about Syrian refugees being allowed into the United States after a nearly two-year investigation into their background, they are ignoring the large number of possible terrorists already living and working in our nation. By denying the truth, they once again prove that they support the NRA and do not care about our nation’s people.

Post 9/11 the American people lost all common sense and began to allow human’s greatest weakness, emotions, to control their thoughts and beliefs. Fear makes us weak, and that is the goal of terrorists and some of our politicians.

ISIS is celebrating the actions by GOP politicians. Refusing to offer humanitarian aid fortifies their cause and increases its number of recruits.

The problem is that our government has once again failed the American people. Talk is cheap; action takes effort and results in positive change

Get off your asses, Washington; take action to protect the American people who elected you. Tell the special interest groups that you have found your conscience. In the words of Nancy Reagan; “just say no.”

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Photo Courtesy of brian.ch

Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/By-James-turnage/e/B00LOCJ2Z2