Cynthia Davis: Make no laws against guns- laws can't cure evil-hearted people

(Note: The author, former Rep. Cynthia Davis, R-O'Fallon, is the host of an internet talk show.)

Shortly after the last school shooting in Florida, we watched public forums to discuss remedies for school violence. The wrath of the left-leaning, anti-second amendment activists came down hard on the N.R.A. (National Rifle Association). Curiously, the Gun Owners of America escaped the fury. When I asked Larry Pratt, the Executive Director about this, he said it's because they don't negotiate.

You'd think these anti-gun activists would be more interested in attacking the Gun Owners of America, but perhaps they were concerned that their target would be too broad. Just the name implies a broader base.

I hope we can all see the hypocrisy for what it is. Please eliminate "gun violence" and "assault weapons" from your vocabulary. These terms are intended to make political statements and distract from the issues. Guns don't commit acts of violence. People can do violent acts with guns, knives, bricks, vehicles, razor blades, plates, lamps, you name it...if there's maliciousness in the heart, anything can become a weapon.

Law abiding citizens can be trusted with guns. When there is a higher density of protection and a self-protective philosophy among the herd, it keeps the bad guys at bay. If any of us were in a room during a mass-shooting in progress, we would rather have an informed citizen save our lives than to wait for the police to arrive and hold a discussion of who should enter first.

Using tragedies to strip us of our Constitutionally protected rights needs to stop! When something horrible happens, due to the evil in someone's heart, that's not the time to manipulate the Country to the left. Before jumping on the "more laws" bandwagon, first ask yourself, "Did this tragedy happen because we didn't have enough laws?" If you discover that the horrible events happened because of evil-hearted people, more laws can't cure that.

Let's be intelligent enough to treat each tragedy as a calamity, a disaster, a catastrophe and not take advantage of the hurting to push for laws that will hurt even more innocent people.