Ah, the mind of the totalitarian statist. Senator Diane Feinstein, in response to an amendment to her bill to ban firearms, managed to insult every American veteran who has served.
Sen. John Cornyn proposed an amendment to her bill that would add retired veterans to the list of individuals exempt from her ban. What followed next was not only despicable, but by any measure, showed her total lack of knowledge of those who serve in the military.
Feinstein responded to Cornyn with this:
(Video Below)
As I understand our bill, no issue has arose in this regard during the 10 years the expired ban was effect… and what we did in the other bill was exempt possession by the United States or a department or agency of the United States… that included active military. The problem with expanding this is that you know with the advent of PTSD, which I think is a new phenomenon as a product of the Iraq War, it’s not clear how the seller or transferrer of a firearm covered by this bill would verify that an individual was a member, or a veteran, and that there was no impairment of that individual with respect to having a weapon like this. So you know I would be happy to sit down with you again and see if we could work something out but I think we have to — if you’re going to do this, find a way that veterans who are incapacitated for one reason or another mentally don’t have access to this kind of weapon.
First of all Madame Senator, PTSD is not a "new phenomenon". Military fighting men and women have exhibited "battle fatigue", and "shell shock"long before the Iraq War came about. Millions of Vietnam, Korean, and WWI/II vets have all dealt with the horrors of battle, and the vast majority have shown themselves to be more than capable of the responsibility of owning any number of different types of firearms. Moreover, I argue that veterans as a rule are more responsible and show greater restraint with firearms than those have never served, due to the fact that many have seen firsthand the consequences of pulling that trigger. Many have come back to serve as Police Officers , or in the FBI, Border Patrol, and other law enforcement capacities. Your assertion that vets coming back from battle are somehow mentally defective is not only insulting, it is irresponsible.
The event at Sandy Hook Elementary, which launched your latest crusade, was tragic. But, it was not carried out by a military vet. Nor were the following: Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colorado, Phoenix (Gabby Giffords), Amish School House murders. The vast majority of mass shooting are committed by people who never served in the military. Furthermore, the vast majority of mass shootings in the U.S., including the one at Sandy Hook, were not committed with the so-called "assault weapons" you propose banning, but with semi-automatic handguns (LINK).
Senator Feinstein's legislation is just another attempt by those on the left to exploit a tragedy for the express purpose of subjugating the Constitutional rights of Americans. That she does it this time by denigrating the men and women who have served to defend those rights for ALL Americans, is beyond despicable.
Senator, you owe all of the men and women who have ever served this great country of ours an apology!
H/T to The Black Sphere
Senate Hearing: Sen. Feinstein's remarks on retired members of the military begin at about the 1:34:50 mark.
