Under the intense undue influence of the NRA over Republican legislators, an Amendment was passed in 1996 which bans the research of the effect of guns on the fact that on average 89 Americans are killed per day by gunfire.

“Surrealistic” and “sociopathic” are characterization that come to mind when one ponders about this downright cynical and sadistic phenomenon which allows for anyone, including people on the FBI’s list as “terrorist suspects” who are not allowed to board airplanes, but still can easily buy automatic people killing machines.

A synergy of corruption, greed, and ignorance contributes the irrational notion that we all have a “right” to arm ourselves to the teeth and to carry concealed weapons, on the notion that the Second Amendment guarantees this so-called “right” to us.

Tacked onto a 1996 appropriations bill, the Dickey Amendment was pushed through Congress by Republican legislators under substantial pressure from the NRA.

The amendment’s author was former Rep. Jay Dickey (R-Ark.)

Just as the Supreme Court decision of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, this amendment flies in the face of decent and rational thinking and violates the American people’s right to be secured from terrorizing mass killers.

In fact, even the author of this bizarre amendment, now is calling for the repeal of this amendment which never should have become an amendment.

As reported by Public Radio International, ” Dr. Fred Rivara, a professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology at the University of Washington at Seattle Children’s Hospital, has been involved with injury research for 30 years. He was part of a team that researched gun violence back in the 1990s and personally saw the chilling effects of the NRA’s lobbying arm. Rivara says that the NRA accused the CDC of trying to use science to promote gun control.”

As a result of the undue influence of the gun lobby over predominantly Republican legislators, our homeland security is prevented from even conducting the research on gun violence and its lethal effect on us and on our loved ones.

The Second Amendment is all about providing ” a well-regulated Militia “, i.e. in effect our state’s National Guards volunteers, who are the ones to have the right keep and bear arms. This “right” , the Second Amendment clearly stipulates, must be ” well-regulated”.

Nothing in said Second Amendment allows people to easily go to the internet or gun shows and acquire automatic mass people killing machines.

One year after the Bush/Cheney invasion of Iraq on false claims, i.e. in 2004, the federal ban on automatic assault weapons ban was allowed to expire.  This travesty has cost Americans countless lives, not to mention the lives of Americans killed abroad during the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

The daily massacres in the U.S. must be stopped NOW , and that means that the NRA and its Republican politicians must be sidelined at the polls asap.