"Assault Honda Kills Five"

To put the "Defining an Assault Rifle" post in another light, imagine how we could curb (pun intended) hundreds of thousands of senseless killings if we arbitrarily banned other objects based on looks rather than function.

As more people are killed every year by automobiles than firearms, I call for an immediate ban on all assault vehicles. It's for the children!!!

(L) "Assault vehicle" means any:

(1) Automatic transmission vehicle capable of holding more than ten gallons of gas and has one or more of the following:

(a) A gearshift that protrudes from the floorboard and is shaped differently than other gearshifts;

(b) A telescoping or adjustable steering column;

(d) A shroud attached to the muffler, allowing the bearer to touch it without being burned; or

(e) An air resistance brake or compensator that makes the vehicle a little easier to control if driving it in excess of 300 mph.

I found this article and thought I'd post it in its entirety:

Assault Honda Kills Five
by Dan White
Wednesday, 24 May 2006

NewsNet5.com is reporting a story today about two sisters and their three toddlers who were intentionally run over by a man in Georgia Tuesday.

In light of this tragedy, I cannot help but wonder why the media isn't calling for a ban on automatic (transmission) assault cars. In keeping with their tradition of reporting on similar crimes committed with firearms, they should be pleading for sensible car laws including waiting periods, background checks, limits on the amount of gasoline the tank can hold, and "no cars" signs at the parking lot entrances. They should also be serving the public good by printing the name, age, and county of residence of all driver's permit holders in the newspapers. Local city councils should also be considering bans on vehicles in all public places.

The driver of the car, whom his mother claims suffers from mental illness, was reportedly smiling as he committed his crime. Wouldn't a seven day waiting period on automobile purchases prevented this crime? Maybe an ignition lock would have helped. Perhaps his mother bought the car for him (a straw purchase).

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg should be stepping to the plate and calling for a lawsuit against car dealers and manufacturers. Surely they should be able to control how their product is used or misused.

Banning assault vehicles should be easy. There isn't even a pesky constitutional amendment standing in the way.

The truth is that sometimes bad people do bad things. Almost anything can be used as a weapon to injure or kill. Blaming the inanimate object, or punishing those who did not commit a crime with it, solves nothing. Media bias demonizing one object, and not another, for such misuse does nothing to address the problem. Violence is caused by the individual, not the tool. Trying to remove one particular tool from everyone will not prevent a criminal from using another tool to accomplish his goals, and serves only to deprive the law-abiding. That's not how a free society is supposed to work.