Mike Flynn: Weapons of war

Orlando was preventable. I was an active duty soldier for over 30 years. I have used M-1s, M-14s, M-16s, Thompson sub-machine guns, M-1 carbines and AK-47s among other fully automatic weapons. These are all weapons of war. They have one purpose: to kill other human beings. There is no legitimate reason for private citizens in this country to have such weapons.

This is not an infringement on Second Amendment rights. At one time it was legal in this country to possess fully automatic weapons. The federal firearms act regulated such weapons in 1934. It is time for the same type of regulations to be applied to assault weapons, however you define them. High-capacity magazines are certainly at the top of the list for regulation.

This story was originally published June 18, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Mike Flynn: Weapons of war."