We all mourn the victims of shocking tragedies that have resulted from senseless acts of violence perpetrated by seriously disturbed individuals.  However, such tragedies should not be viewed as an indictment of America's precious Second Amendment rights.  Thus, we should not react in a manner that would unnecessarily and improperly infringe upon the rights of tens of millions of law-abiding American gun owners.

Unfortunately, it seems that some zealous gun rights opponents are seeking to leverage tragedies to further their long-held agenda of unduly restricting Americans' Second Amendment rights.  Nonpartisan studies have shown that the now-expired federal “assault weapons” ban did nothing to curb violent acts committed with guns in the United States. The fact is that no amount of government intervention can prevent irrational people from doing terrible things.

I will always seek out ways to make all Americans safe from violence. However, I believe that one of the starting points is protecting the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend their homes and families in the manner contemplated by our nation's founders in the Second Amendment.