FUCK THE NRA, the gun-nut wing of the Republican Party.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

147. No, I understand them perfectly.

I'm not saying thousands of gun enthusiasts rushed to gun shops and gun shows because they wanted to emulate Adam Lanza. I know very well the reason for all those long lines and gun and ammo shortages was because all these gun enthusiasts were all so scared that they wouldn't be able to buy all those AR-15s anymore. Apparently, the act of shooting an AR-15 gives off such an awesome release for them that they could not bear to be without.

That really doesn't excuse it. It's irrational behavior. In my mind, it is a mental defect. It's a hoarding disorder, gun hoarding. And there's a disconnect with society there, that somehow restrictions on the purchases of certain types of weapons is somehow far greater a tragedy than the mass shootings that were carried out with the help of such weapons.

Think about it: After December 14, 2012, was there magically an exponential spike in home invasions and armed robberies that somehow necessitated or justified a mad rush on the nearest gun shop or gun show? The answer, of course, is no. Gun enthusiasts, most of whom already have multiple guns, were so threatened and insecure that maybe, just maybe, they couldn't buy even more guns than the ones they already had.

They've relegated guns to some sort of frivolous commodity. The stated necessity for stockpiling them is simply because they can. None of this makes sense, especially considering the extraordinary gravity of what a gun really is and what a gun really does.

I'm sorry, but if a week after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting you find yourself in line at a gun show because you just need to have that AR-15 before they go off the market, even though you might already have two other AR-15s at home, there's something seriously, seriously, seriously wrong with you. I don't believe I'm broad brushing on that, either.