This ridiculous ban against purchasing or owning a semi-automatic weapon until age 21 flies in the face of this old WWII veteran’s memory. Along with every other service member who enlisted or was drafted in all of America’s calls to arms. Countless of us were and are not 21. This old navy assault-craft crewman was age 18 when I hauled marines into the beach at Okinawa. Would bet the lion’s share of the 40 aboard were under 21. And horrors, they were packing semi-automatic weapons; and I had access to a .50-caliber machine gun.
When the war was over, I hauled more young marines back onto a beach in Korea and watched as they took the surrender of a large contingent of Japanese soldiers who were in formation on a level piece of ground close to the beach. The young marines were packing semi-automatic weapons and again I had access to that mounted .50-caliber machine gun.
In my judgment, it is bump stocks and banana clips that turn rifles into deadly weapons, bolt action or semi-automatic. Those of us old enough will remember Lee Harvey Oswald got off three killing shots with a bolt action rifle in less than 20 seconds. He was over 21. Some things you just can’t stop.
